HEATH'S HOME AND SCHOOL CLASSICS 




PT 

~ A ROMANTIC FAIRY TALE 



UNDINE 



F. DE LA MOTTE ;.FOUQUE 

Prefatory Note By 
MRS, ELIZABETH, STUART PHELPS W.ARD 

E-LUSTItATED 



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DC. HEATH & CO., PUBLISHERS 
BOSTON, U.S. A 



Class -J?T-2l&8X- 

Book ,3LfiL4_ 

CopyrightN 0 . 1101 . 

COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 




The Fisherman's Home. 



Frontispiece 



UNDINE 

ROMANTIC FAIRY TAL 

FREDERICK DE LA MOTTE FOUQUE 

A 

TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN 



WITH FIFTY-iSEVEN ILLUSTRATIONS AFTER 
THE DRAWINGS BY JULIUS HOPPNER 

PREFATORY NOTE BY 
MRS. ELIZABETH STUART PHELPS WARD 



BOSTON, U.S.A. 
D. C. HEATH & CO., PUBLISHERS 
1902 




THF L'BRARY @F 

CONGRESS, 
Two Ooh» Receive* 

MAR. 1902 

COFVRWHT ENTRY 

CLAS8 ^ XXo. No. 

2. 9 ^ b / 
COPY B, 



Copyright, 1902, 
By D. C. Heath & Co. 




ipUmpton iprcsg 

PLIMPTON 4, CO., PRINTERS & BINDERS, 
NORWOOD, MASS., U.S.A. 



PREFATORY NOTE. 



There are certain strong cravings in the nature of 
childhood of which maturity is apt to lose sight, or with 
which it is in danger of losing sympathy. 

One of these is the passion for the marvellous, — we 
might call it the worship of the incredible. Nothing 
passes out of the heart more thoroughly with the pass- 
ing of youth than the love of fairy tales. Many of us 
who read them devotedly in our "little years" — we who 
played them, invented them, related them, perhaps, for 
the benefit of that credulous and kindly public never 
to be found outside of a group of playmates — record 
ourselves too easily disloyal to this young affection. 
Life sobers faster than it teaches, and drives us so 
hard along her narrow pathway that, for a time, we are 
quite occupied in keeping our footing. Then, one day, 
we pause to take breath, and " the eternal child " in us 
comes out to play again. The beautiful lesson of keep- 
ing on good terms with the childhood in our souls is 
easy to learn. Anything may open the page. 

Something in the color of the afternoon, or the tone 
of the sunset, in the note of a bird, or the laugh of a 
brook suddenly smites you with a poignant memory. 
Twenty years ago I sat in the apple orchard with such 
a book, and the world looked to me like this that day. 
Or, I was lying in the new-mown hay, reading such a 
story, such a poem, and I had read so far when that 



vi 



Prefatory Note. 



happened which changed the face of the world for me, 
from that day forth, forever. 

Or, perhaps, your own little lad or lass, with velvet 
arms about your neck and rose-leaf lips against your 
cheek, demands the giant, or the dragon, the prince, 
the princess, the fairy queen, or the enchanted castle. 
The little man or little woman will have what the large 
one has forgotten, believes all that the larger one has 
learned to doubt, and rejoices in the frost scenery and 
cobweb drapery, the moonlight architecture, and the 
dewdrop jewelry of the fair, dim dream-world from 
which you have forever awakened. 

Of all the healthy, happy, right instincts in our chil- 
dren which it should be the joy of all right and healthy 
parents and teachers to gratify, when possible, the love 
of wonderland is one of the most innocent, and, perhaps, 
in its way, one of the most inevitable. We may give 
place to it heartily, and with a certain respect which, 
perhaps, we do not always cultivate toward illusions 
that we have ourselves outgrown. ^ It is as useful as 
skates, or dolls, or kites, or bob-sleds, and as worthy of 
personal regard or attention. It has as true a place 
in the education of our children as the multiplication 
table or the map of Europe. 

Of the fairy tales (and these were a goodly number) 
read and beloved in my own fairy years, I do not recall 
any one which has lived by me longer than " Undine." 
In what lies the charm of this most attractive story ? 
It would be difficult to say ; but there is no doubt that 
it has a witchery as peculiar to itself as the motion of 
a waterfall. In this beautiful tale, full of the best 
German imagination and touched with qualities common 
to all nations and all times, we follow the slow and 



Prefatory Note. 



vii 



subtle process which makes a woman out of a water- 
sprite. The creation of a human soul in an extra-human 
being is a mystery which allures and " draws us on." 
One who has ever truly loved Undine will all his life 
look for wonder-books in streams and fairy faces in 
running brooks. Perhaps, too, he will all his life look 
for the true, womanly heart hiding in the peevish or 
half-developed child, — more gently for having read 
this immortal tale of De La Motte Fouque's. 

The book is as clear as one of Undine's own lakes, 
and no delicate child could see anything but fair and 
lovely images in it. 

ELIZABETH STUART PHELPS WARD. 

Newton Centre, Mass., 
January, 1902. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 



Prefatory Note by Mrs. Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward . > 

List of Illustrations . • ix 

How the Knight came to the Fisherman i 
In what Way Undine had come to the Fisherman . . 12 

How they found Undine again 21 

Of that which the Knight encountered in the Wood . 28 
How the Knight lived on the Little Promontory . . 37 

Of a Nuptial Ceremony . .44 

What further happened on the Evening of the Wedding . 54 

The Day after the Wedding 59 

How the Knight took his Young Wife with him . . .67 

How they lived in the City 75 

The Anniversary of Bertalda's Name-day . . . .81 
How they departed from the Imperial City ■ . . .90 

How They lived at Castle Ringstetten 96 

How Bertalda returned Home with the Knight . . . 107 

The Journey to Vienna 117 

how it fared further with huldbrand . . . . i27 

The Knight's Dream 133 

How the Knight Huldbrand is married 138 

How the Knight Huldbrand was buried .... 146 



viii 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



The Fisherman's Home Frontispiece 

PAGE 

The First Meeting . 9 

In the Flood . . . . . . . . .23 

The Nuptials ' . . . .51 

The Wedding Journey 69 

Undine and Bertalda 85 

Separated at Last 125 

From Spirit-land 143 

United in Death 150 



IX 



UNDINE. 



CHAPTER I. 

HOW THE KNIGHT CAME TO THE FISHERMAN. 

THERE was once — it may be now many hun- 
dred years ago — a good old fisherman, who 
was sitting one fine evening before his door, 
mending his nets. The part of the country in 
which he lived was extremely pretty. The green- 
sward, on which his cottage stood, ran far into the 
lake, and it seemed as if it was from love for 'the 
blue, clear waters that the tongue of land had 
stretched itself out into them, while with an 
equally fond embrace the lake had encircled the 
green pasture, rich with waving grass and flowers 
and the refreshing shade of trees. The one wel- 
comed the other, and it was just this that made 
each so beautiful. 



2 Undine. 

There were indeed few human beings, or rather 
none at all, to be met with on this pleasant spot, 
except the fisherman and his family; for at the 
back of this little promontory there lay a very wild 
forest, which, both from its gloom and pathless 
solitude, as well as from the wonderful creatures 
and illusions with which it was said to abound, 
was avoided by most people, except in cases of 
necessity. 

The pious old fisherman, however, passed 
through it many a time undisturbed, when he 
was taking the choice fish, which he had caught 
at his beautiful home, to a large town situated 
not far from the confines of the forest. 

The principal reason why it was so easy for 
him to pass through this forest was because the 
tone of his thoughts was almost entirely of a 
religious character, and besides this, whenever he 
set foot upon the evil-reputed shades he was wont 
to sing some holy song, with a clear voice and a 
sincere heart. 

While sitting over his nets this evening, not 
suspecting any evil, a sudden fear came upon 
him, at the sound of a rustling in the gloom of 
the forest, as of a horse and rider, the noise ap- 
proaching nearer and nearer to the little promon- 
tory. All that he had dreamed, in many a stormy 
night, of the mysteries of the forest, now flashed 
at once through his mind ; foremost of all, the 



The Knight and the Fisherman. 3 



image of a gigantic snow-white man, who kept 
unceasingly nodding his head in a portentous 
manner. Indeed, when he raised his eyes toward 
the wood it seemed to him as if he actually saw 
the nodding man approaching through the dense 
foliage. 

He soon reassured himself, reflecting that noth- 
ing serious had ever befallen him even in the for- 
est itself, and that upon this open tongue of land 
the evil spirit would be still less daring in the ex- 
ercise of his power. At the same time he repeated 
aloud a text from the Bible with all his heart, and 
this so inspired him with courage that he almost 
smiled at the illusion he had allowed to possess 
him. 

The white nodding man was suddenly trans- 
formed into a brook long familiar to him, which 
ran foaming from the forest and discharged itself 
into the lake. The noise which he had heard, 
was caused by a knight, beautifully apparelled, 
who, emerging from the deep shadows of the 
wood, came riding toward the cottage. A scarlet 
mantle was thrown over his purple gold-embroid- 
ered doublet ; a red and violet plume waved from 
his golden-colored head-gear; and a beautifully 
and richly ornamented sword flashed from his 
shoulder-belt. The white steed that bore the 
knight was more slenderly formed than war- 
horses generally are, and he stepped so lightly 



4 



Undine. 



over the turf that this green and flowery carpet 
seemed scarcely to receive the slightest injury 
from his tread. 

The old fisherman did not, however, feel per- 
fectly secure in his mind, although he tried to 
convince himself that no evil was to be feared 
from so graceful an apparition ; and therefore he 
politely took off his hat as the knight approached, 
and remained quietly with his nets. 

Presently the stranger drew up, and inquired 
whether he and his horse could have shelter and 
care for the night. " As regards your horse, good 
sir," replied the fisherman, " I can assign him no 
better stable than this shady pasture, and no 
better provender than the grass growing on it. 
Yourself, however, I will gladly welcome to my 
small cottage, and give you supper and lodging 
as good as we have." The knight was well satis- 
fied with this ; he alighted from his horse, and, 
with the assistance of the fisherman, he relieved 
it from saddle and bridle, and turned it loose 
upon the flowery green. Then addressing his 
host, he said : " Even had I found you less hos- 
pitable and kindly disposed, my worthy old fisher- 
man, you would nevertheless scarcely have got 
rid of me to-day, for, as I see, a broad lake lies 
before us, and to ride back into that mysterious 
wood, with the shades of evening coming on, 
Heaven keep me from it ! " 



The Knight and the Fisherman. 5 



" We will not talk too much of that," said the 
fisherman, and he led his guest into the cottage. 

There, beside the hearth, from which a scanty 
fire shed a dim light through the cleanly kept 
room, sat the fisherman's aged wife in a capacious 
chair. At the entrance of the noble guest she 
rose to give him a kindly welcome, but resumed 
her seat of honor without offering it to the stran- 
ger. Upon this the fisherman said with a smile : 
" You must not take it amiss of her, young sir, that 
she has not given up to you the most comfortable 
seat in the house ; it is a custom among poor peo- 
ple, that it should belong exclusively to the aged." 

" Why, husband," said the wife, with a quiet 
smile, " what can you be thinking of ? Our guest 
belongs no doubt to Christian men, and how could 
it come into the head of the good young blood to 
drive old people from their chairs ? Take a seat, 
my young master," she continued, turning toward 
the knight ; " over there, there is a right pretty 
little chair, only you must not move about on it 
too roughly, for one of its legs is no longer of the 
firmest." 

The knight fetched the chair carefully, sat down 
upon it good-humoredly, and it seemed to him as 
if he were related to this little household, and had 
just returned from abroad. 

The three worthy people now began to talk to- 
gether in the most friendly and familiar manner. 



6 



Undine. 



With regard to the forest, about which the knight 
made some inquiries, the old man was not inclined 
to be communicative, he felt it was not a subject 
suited to approaching night ; but the aged couple 
spoke freely of their home and former life, and 
listened also gladly when the knight recounted to 
them his travels, and told them that he had a castle 
near the source of the Danube, and that his name 
was Sir Huldbrand of Ringstetten.. During the 
conversation, the stranger had already occasion- 
ally heard a splash against the little low window, 
as if some one were sprinkling water against it. 
Every time the noise occurred, the old man knit 
his brow with displeasure ; but when at last a 
whole shower was dashed against the panes, and 
bubbled into the room through the decayed case- 
ment, he rose angrily, and called threateningly 
from the window: "Undine! will you for once 
leave off these childish tricks ? and to-day, besides, 
there is a stranger knight with us in the cottage." 

All was silent without, only a suppressed laugh 
was audible, and the fisherman said as he re- 
turned: "You must pardon it in her, my honored 
guest, and perhaps many a naughty trick besides ; 
but she means no harm by it. It is our foster- 
child, Undine, and she will not wean herself from 
this childishness, although she has already entered 
her eighteenth year. But, as I said, at heart she 
is thoroughly good." 



The Knight and the Fisherman. 7 

" You may well talk," replied the old woman, 
shaking her head ; " when you come home from 
fishing or from a journey, her frolics may then be 
very delightful ; but to have her about one the 
whole day long, and never to hear a sensible word, 
and instead of finding her a help in the house- 
keeping as she grows older, always to be obliged 
to be taking care that her follies do not com- 
pletely ruin us, that is quite another thing, and 
the patience of a saint would be worn out at 
last." 

" Well, well," said her husband, with a smile, 
"you have your troubles with Undine, and I have 
mine with the lake. It often breaks away my 
dams and tears my nets to pieces, but for all that 
I have an affection for it ; and so have you for the 
pretty child, in spite of all your crosses and vexa- 
tions. Isn't it so ? " 

" One can't be very angry with her, certainly," 
said the old woman ; and she smiled approvingly. 

Just then the door flew open, and a beautiful, 
fair girl glided laughing into the room, and said : 
" You have only been jesting, father; for where is 
your guest ? " 

At the same moment, however, she perceived 
the knight, and stood fixed with astonishment be- 
fore the handsome youth. Huldbrand was struck 
with her charming appearance, and dwelt the 
more earnestly on her lovely features, as he imag- 



8 



Undine 



ined it was only her surprise that gave him this 
brief enjoyment, and that she would presently turn 
from his gaze with increased bashfulness. 

It was, however, quite otherwise ; for, after 
having looked at him for some time, she drew 
near him confidingly, knelt down before him, and 
said, as she played with a gold medal which he 
wore on his breast, suspended from a rich chain : 
" Why, you handsome, kind guest, how have you 
come to our poor cottage at last ? Have you been 
obliged, then, to wander through the world for 
years before you could find your way to us ? Do 
you come out of that wild forest, my beautiful 
knight ? " 

The old woman's reproof allowed him no time 
for reply. She admonished the girl to stand up 
and behave herself, and to go to her work. Un- 
dine, however, without making any answer, drew 
a little footstool close to Huldbrand's chair, sat 
down upon it with her spinning, and said pleas- 
antly : " I will work here." 

The old man did as parents are wont to do 
with spoiled children; he affected to observe 
nothing of Undine's naughtiness, and was begin- 
ning to talk of something else. But this the girl 
would not let him do ; she said : " I have asked 
our charming guest whence he comes, and he has 
not yet answered me." 

" I come from the forest, you beautiful little 



The First Meeting. 



IO 



Undine. 



vision," returned Huldbrand ; and she went on to 
say : — 

" Then you must tell me how you came there, 
for it is usually so feared, and what marvellous 
adventures you met with in it ; for it is impos- 
sible to escape without something of the sort." 

Huldbrand felt a slight shudder at this remem- 
brance, and looked involuntarily toward the win- 
dow, for it seemed to him as if one of the strange 
figures he had encountered in the forest were 
grinning in there ; but he saw nothing but the 
deep, dark night, which had now shrouded every- 
thing without. Upon this he composed himself, 
and was on the point of beginning his little his- 
tory, when the old man interrupted him by say- 
ing, " Not so, sir knight, this is no fit hour for 
such things." 

Undine, however, sprang angrily from her little 
stool, and, standing straight before the fisherman 
with her fair arms akimbo, she exclaimed : " He 
shall not tell his story, father ? He shall not ? 
But it is my will. He shall ! He shall in spite 
of you ! " 

And thus saying she stamped her pretty little 
foot vehemently on the floor; but she did it all 
with such a comically graceful air that Huld- 
brand now felt his gaze almost more riveted upon 
her in her anger than before in her gentleness. 

The restrained wrath of the old man, on the 



The Knight and the Fisherman. 1 1 



contrary, burst forth violently. He severely re- 
proved Undine's disobedience and unbecoming 
behavior to the stranger, and his good old wife 
joined him heartily. Undine quickly retorted : 
" If you want to chide me, and won't do what I 
wish, then sleep alone in your old smoky hut ! " 
And swift as an arrow she flew from the room, 
and fled into the dark night. 



CHAPTER II. 



IN WHAT WAY UNDINE HAD COME TO THE FISHERMAN. 

HULDBRAND and the fisherman sprang 
from their seats and were on the point of 
following the angry girl. Before they reached 
the cottage door, however, Undine had long van- 
ished in the shadowy darkness without, and not 
even the sound of her light footstep betrayed the 
direction of her flight. Huldbrand looked inquir- 
ingly at his host ; it almost seemed to him as 
if the whole sweet apparition, which had sud- 
denly merged again into the night, were nothing 
else than one of that band of wonderful forms 
which had, but a short time since, carried on their 
pranks with him in the forest. 

But the old man murmured between his teeth : 
" This is not the first time that she has treated 
us in this way. Now we have aching hearts and 
sleepless eyes the whole night through ; for who 



The Coming of Undine. 



l 3 



knows that she may not some day come to harm 
if she is thus out alone in the dark until daylight." 

" Then let us for God's sake follow her," cried 
Huldbrand, anxiously. 

" What would be the good of it ? " replied the 
old man. " It would be a sin were I to allow you, 
all alone, to follow the foolish girl in the solitary 
night, and my old limbs would not overtake the 
wild runaway, even if we knew in what direction 
she had gone." 

" We had better at any rate call after her, and 
beg her to come back," said Huldbrand ; and he 
began to call in the most earnest manner: " Un- 
dine ! Undine ! Pray come back ! " The old 
man shook his head, saying that all that shouting 
would help but little, for the knight had no idea 
how self-willed the little truant was. But still he 
could not forbear often calling out with him in 
the dark night: "Undine! Ah, dear Undine, I 
beg you to come back, — only this once ! " 

It turned out, however, as the fisherman had 
said. No Undine was to be heard or seen, and 
as the old man would on no account consent that 
Huldbrand should go in search of the fugitive, 
they were at last both obliged to return to the 
cottage. Here they found the fire on the hearth 
almost gone out, and the old wife, who took Un- 
dine's flight and danger far less to heart than her 
husband, had already retired to rest. 



Undine. 



The old man blew up the fire, laid some dry 
wood on it, and by the light of the flame sought 
out a tankard of wine, which he placed between 
himself and his guest. 

u You, sir knight," said he, " are also anxious 
about that silly girl, and we would both rather 
chatter and drink away a part of the night than 
keep turning round on our rush mats trying in 
vain to sleep. Is it not so ? " 

Huldbrand was well satisfied with the plan ; 
the fisherman obliged him to take the seat of 
honor vacated by the good old housewife, and 
both talked together in a manner becoming 
two honest and trusting men. It is true, as 
often as the slightest thing moved before the 
windows, • or even at times when nothing was 
moving, one of the two would look up and say: 
" She is coming ! " Then they would be silent 
for a moment or two, and as nothing appeared, 
they would shake their heads and sigh and go on 
with their talk. 

As, however, neither could think of anything 
but of Undine, they knew of nothing better to do 
than that the old fisherman should tell the story, 
and the knight should hear, in what manner Un- 
dine had first come to the cottage. He therefore 
began as follows : — 

" It is now about fifteen years ago that I was 
one day crossing the wild forest with my goods, 



The Coming of Undine. 15 

on my way to the city. My wife had stayed at 
home, as her wont is, and at this particular time 
for a very good reason, for God had given us, in 
our tolerably advanced age, a wonderfully beauti- 
ful child. It was a little girl ; and a question 
already arose between us, whether for the sake 
of the newcomer we would not leave our lovely 
home that we might better bring up this dear gift 
of Heaven in some more habitable place. Poor 
people indeed cannot do in such cases as you may 
think they ought, sir knight; but, with God's 
blessing, every one must do what he can. Well, 
the matter was tolerably in my head as I went 
along. This slip of land was so dear to me, and 
I shuddered when, amid the noise and brawls of 
the city, I thought to myself, 'In such scenes as 
these, or in one not much more quiet, thou wilt 
also soon make thy abode ! ' But at the same 
time I did not murmur against the good God ; 
on the contrary, I thanked Him in secret for 
the new-born babe ; I should be telling a lie, 
too, were I to say that on my journey through 
the wood, going or returning, anything befell 
me out of the common way, and at that time 
I had never seen any of its fearful wonders. 
The Lord was ever with me in those mysterious 
shades." 

As he spoke he took his little cap from his 
bald head, and remained for a time occupied with 



i6 



Undine. 



prayerful thoughts ; he then covered himself again, 
and continued : — 

"On this side the forest, alas ! a sorrow awaited 
me. My wife came to meet me with tearful eyes ' 
and clad in mourning. ' Oh ! God ! ' I groaned, 
'where is our dear child ? speak ! ' — ' With Him 
on whom you have called, dear husband,' she re- 
plied ; and we now entered the cottage together, 
weeping silently. I looked around for the little 
corpse, and it was then only that I learned how 
it had all happened. 

" My wife had been sitting with the child on 
the edge of the lake, and as she was playing with 
it, free from all fear and full of happiness, the 
little one suddenly bent forward, as if attracted by 
something very beautiful in the water. My wife 
saw her laugh, the dear angel, and stretch out her 
little hands ; but in a moment she had sprung 
out of her mother's arms, and had sunk beneath 
the watery mirror. I sought long for our little 
lost one ; but it was all in vain, there was no trace 
of her to be found. 

" The same evening we, childless parents, were 
sitting silently together in the cottage ; neither 
of us had any desire to talk, even had our tears 
allowed us. We sat gazing into the fire on the 
hearth. 

" Presently, we heard something rustling outside 
the door ; it flew open, and a beautiful little girl 



The Coming of Undine. 17 



three or four years old, richly dressed, stood on 
the threshold smiling at us. We were quite 
dumb with astonishment ; and I knew not at first 
whether it were a vision or a reality. But I saw 
the water dripping from her golden hair and rich 
garments, and I perceived that the pretty child 
had been lying in the water, and needed help. 

" ' Wife,' said I, ' no one has been able to save 
our dear child ; yet let us at any rate do for others 
what would have made us so blessed.' We un- 
dressed the little one, put her to bed, and gave 
her something warm. At all this she spoke not 
a word, and only fixed her eyes, that reflected the 
blue of the lake and of the sky, smilingly upon us. 

" Next morning we quickly perceived that she 
had taken no harm from her wetting; and I now 
inquired about her parents, and how she had come 
here. But she gave a confused and strange ac- 
count. She must have been born far from here ; 
not only because for these fifteen years I have not 
been able to find out anything of her parentage, 
but because she then spoke, and at times still 
speaks, of such singular things that such as we 
are cannot tell but that she may have dropped 
upon us from the moon. She talks of golden 
castles, of crystal domes, and Heaven knows 
what besides. 

" The story that she told with most distinctness 
was, that she was out in a boat with her mother 



i8 



Undine. 



on the great lake, and fell into the water, and that 
she only recovered her senses here under the 
trees, where she felt herself quite happy, on the 
merry shore. We had still a great misgiving and 
perplexity weighing on our heart. We had, in- 
deed, soon decided to keep the child we had found 
and to bring her up in the place of our lost dar- 
ling ; but who could tell us whether she had been 
baptized or not ? She herself could give us no 
information on the matter. She generally an- 
swered our questions by saying that she well 
knew she was created for God's praise and glory, 
and that she was ready to let us do with her what- 
ever would tend to His honor and glory. 

" My wife and I thought that if she were not 
baptized, there was no time for delay, and that if 
she were, a good thing could not be repeated too 
often. And in pursuance of this idea we reflected 
upon a good name for the child, for we now were 
often at a loss to know what to call her. 

" We agreed at last that Dorothea would be the 
most suitable for her; for I once heard that it 
meant a gift of God, and she had surely been sent 
to us by God as a gift and comfort in our misery. 
She, on the other hand, would not hear of this, 
and told us that she thought she had been called 
Undine by her parents, and that Undine she 
wished still to be called. Now this appeared to 
me a heathenish name, not to be found in any 



The Coming of Undine. 



19 



calendar ; and I took counsel therefore of a priest 
in the city. He also would not hear of the name 
of Undine ; but at my earnest request he came 
with me through the mysterious forest in order to 
perform the rite of baptism here in my cottage. 

" The little one stood before us so prettily ar- 
rayed, and looked so charming, that the priest's 
heart was at once moved within him ; and she 
flattered him so prettily, and braved him so mer- 
rily, that at last he could no longer remember the 
objections he had had ready against the name of 
Undine. She was therefore baptized ' Undine ' ; 
and during the sacred ceremony she behaved with 
great propriety and sweetness, wild and restless 
as she invariably was at other times. For my 
wife was quite right when she said that it has 
been hard to put up with her. If I were to tell 
you — " 

The knight interrupted the fisherman to draw 
his attention to a noise, as of a rushing flood of 
waters, which had caught his ear during the old 
man's talk, and which now burst against the cot- 
tage window with redoubled fury. Both sprang 
to the door. There they saw, by the light of the 
now risen moon, the brook which issued from the 
wood widely overflowing its banks, and whirling 
away stones and branches of trees in its sweeping 
course. The storm, as if awakened by the tumult, 
burst forth from the mighty clouds which passed 



20 



Undine. 



rapidly across the moon ; the lake roared under 
the furious lashing of the wind ; the trees of the 
little peninsula groaned from root to topmost 
bough, and bent, as if reeling, over the surging 
waters. 

" Undine ! for Heaven's sake, Undine ! " cried 
the two men in alarm. No answer was returned, 
and regardless of every other consideration, they 
ran out of the cottage, one in this direction, and 
the other in that, searching and calling. 




CHAPTER III. 



HOW THEY FOUND UNDINE AGAIN. 

HE longer Huldbrand sought Undine beneath 



* the shades of night and failed to find her, the 
more anxious and confused did he become. The 
idea that Undine had been a mere apparition of 
the forest again gained ascendency over him. 
Indeed, amid the howling of the waves and the 
tempest, the cracking of the trees, and the com- 
plete transformation of a scene lately so calmly 
beautiful, he could almost have considered the 
whole peninsula with its cottage and its inhabit- 
ants as a mocking, illusive vision ; but from afar 
he still ever heard through the tumult the fisher- 
man's anxious call for Undine, and the loud pray- 
ing and singing of his aged wife. At length he 
came close to the brink of the swollen stream, and 
saw in the moonlight how it had taken its wild 




21 



22 



Undine. 



course directly in front of the haunted forest, so 
as to change the peninsula into an island. 

" Oh ! " thought he to himself, " if Undine has 
ventured a step into that fearful forest, perhaps in 
her charming wilfulness, just because I was not 
allowed to tell her about it, and now the stream 
may be rolling between us, and she may be weep- 
ing on the other side alone among phantoms and 
spectres ! " 

A cry of horror escaped him, and he clambered 
down some .rocks and overthrown pine-stems, in 
order to reach the rushing stream, and by wading 
or swimming to seek the fugitive on the other 
side. 

He remembered all the awful and wonderful 
things which he had encountered, even by day, 
under the now rustling and roaring branches of 
the forest. Above all, it seemed to him as if a 
tall man in white, whom he knew but too well, 
was grinning and nodding on the opposite shore ; 
but it was just these monstrous forms which forci- 
bly impelled him to cross the flood, as the thought 
seized him that Undine might be among them in 
the agonies of death, and alone. 

He had already grasped the strong branch of 
a pine, and was standing supported by it in the 
whirling current, against which he could with dif- 
ficulty maintain himself, though with a coura- 
geous spirit he advanced deeper into it. Just then 




" In the Flood." 



2 4 



Undine. 



a gentle voice exclaimed near him : " Venture 
not, venture not ; the old man, the stream, is full 
of tricks ! " He knew the sweet tones. He stood 
as if entranced beneath the shadows that duskily 
shrouded the moon, and his head swam with the 
swelling of the waves, which he now saw rapidly- 
rising to his waist. Still he would not desist. 

" If thou art not really there, if thou art only 
floating about me like a mist, then may I too 
cease to live, and become a shadow like thee, 
dear, dear Undine ! " Thus exclaiming aloud, he 
again stepped deeper into the stream. 

" Look round thee, oh, look round thee, beautiful 
and infatuated youth ! " cried a voice again close 
beside him ; and, looking aside, he saw by the 
momentarily unveiled moon a little island formed 
by the flood, on which he perceived under the inter- 
weaved branches of the overhanging trees Undine, 
smiling and happy, nestling in the flowery grass. 

Oh, how much more gladly than before did the 
young man now use the aid of his pine-branch ! 

With a few steps he had crossed the flood which 
was rushing between him and the maiden, and he 
was standing beside her on a little spot of turf, 
safely guarded and screened by the good old trees. 
Undine had half raised herself, and now under 
the green leafy tent she threw her arms round his 
neck and drew him down beside her on her soft seat. 

"You shall tell me your story here, beautiful 



How they found Undine. 



2 5 



friend," said she, in a low whisper ; " the cross old 
people cannot hear us here, and our roof of leaves 
is just as good a shelter as their poor cottage." 

" It is heaven itself! " said Huldbrand, embrac- 
ing the beautiful girl and kissing her fervently. 

The old fisherman, meanwhile, had come to the 
edge of the stream, and shouted across to the two 
young people : " Why, sir knight, I have received 
you as one honest-hearted man is wont to receive 
another ; and now here you are caressing my fos- 
ter-child in secret, and letting me run hither and 
thither through the night in anxious search of her." 

" I have only just found her myself," returned 
the knight. 

" So much the better," said the fisherman ; " but 
now bring her across to me on firm ground with- 
out delay." 

Undine would not hear of this ; she declared 
she would rather go with the beautiful stranger 
into the wild forest itself than return to the cot- 
tage, where no one did as she wished, and from 
which the beautiful knight would himself depart 
sooner or later. 

Then, throwing her arms round Huldbrand, she 
sang, with indescribable grace : — 

" A stream ran out of the misty vale 
Its fortunes to obtain ; 
In the ocean's depths it found a home, 
And ne'er returned again." 



26 



Undine. 



The old fisherman wept bitterly at her song, 
but this did not seem to affect her particularly. 
She kissed and caressed her new friend, who at 
last said to her: "Undine, if the old man's dis- 
tress does not touch your heart, it touches mine; 
let us go back to him." 

She opened her large blue eyes in amazement 
at him, and spoke at last, slowly and hesitatingly: 
" If you think so — well, whatever you think is 
right to me. But the old man yonder must first 
promise me that he will let you, without objection, 
relate to me what you saw in the wood, and — 
well, other things will settle themselves." 

" Come, only come ! " cried the fisherman to 
her, unable to utter another word, and at the same 
time he stretched out his arms far over the rush- 
ing stream toward her, and nodded his head as if 
to promise the fulfilment of her request ; and as 
he did this, his white hair fell strangely over his 
face, and reminded Huldbrand of the nodding 
white man in the forest. Without allowing him- 
self, however, to grow confused by such an idea, 
the young knight took the beautiful girl in his 
arms and bore her over the narrow passage which 
the stream had forced between her little island 
and the shore. 

The old man fell upon Undine's neck, and could 
not satisfy the exuberance of his joy ; his good 
wife also came up and caressed the newly-found 



How they found Undine. 



27 



in the heartiest manner. Not a word of reproach 
passed their lips; nor was it thought of, for Un- 
dine, forgetting all her waywardness, almost over- 
whelmed her foster-parents with affection and fond 
expressions. 

When at last they had recovered from the ex- 
cess of their joy, day had already dawned, and had 
shed its purple hue over the lake ; stillness had 
followed the storm, and the little birds were sing- 
ing merrily on the wet branches. As Undine 
now insisted upon hearing the knight's promised 
story, the aged couple smilingly and readily ac- 
ceded to her desire. Breakfast was brought out 
under the trees which screened the cottage from 
the lake, and they sat down to it with contented 
hearts, Undine on the grass at the knight's feet, 
the place chosen by herself. 

Huldbrand then proceeded with his story. 



CHAPTER IV. 



OF THAT WHICH THE KNIGHT ENCOUNTERED IN 
THE WOOD. 

IT is now about eight days since I rode into 
the free imperial city which lies on the other 
side of the forest. Soon after my arrival, there 
was a splendid tournament and running at the 
ring, and I spared neither my horse nor my lance. 
Once when I was pausing at the lists to rest after 
my merry toil, and was handing back my helmet 
to one of my squires, my attention was attracted 
by a female figure of great beauty, who was stand- 
ing, richly attired, on one of the galleries allotted 
to spectators. 

" I asked my neighbor, and learned from him 
that the name of the fair lady was Bertalda, and 
that she was the foster-daughter of one of the 
powerful dukes living in the country. I remarked 
that she also was looking at me ; and, as it is 

28 



The Knight in the Wood. 



29 



wont to be with us young knights, I had already 
ridden bravely, and now pursued my course with 
renovated confidence and courage. In the dance 
that evening I was Bertalda's partner, and I re- 
mained so throughout the festival." 

A sharp pain in his left hand, which hung down 
by his side, here interrupted Huldbrand's narra- 
tive, and drew his attention to the aching part. 
Undine had fastened her pearly teeth upon one of 
his fingers, appearing at the same time very gloomy 
and angry. Suddenly, however, she looked up in 
his eyes with an expression of tender melancholy, 
and whispered, in a soft voice : " It is your own 
fault." Then she hid her face ; and the knight, 
strangely confused and thoughtful, continued his 
narrative. 

" This Bertalda was a haughty, wayward girl. 
Even on the second day she pleased me no longer 
as she had done on the first, and on the third day 
still less. Still I continued about her, because 
she was more pleasant to me than to any other 
knight; and thus it was that I begged her in jest 
to give me one of her gloves. ' I will give it you 
when you have quite alone explored the ill-famed 
forest,' said she, ' and can bring me tidings of its 
wonders.' It was not that her glove was of such 
importance to me, but the word had been said, and 
an honorable knight would not allow himself to 
be urged a second time to such a proof of valor." 



3° 



Undine. 



" I think she loved you," said Undine, interrupt- 
ing him. 

" It seemed so," replied Huldbrand. 

" Well," exclaimed the girl, laughing, " she must 
be stupid indeed, — to drive away any one dear 
to her ! And, moreover, into an ill-omened wood ! 
The forest and its mysteries might have waited 
long enough for me." 

" Yesterday morning," continued the knight, 
smiling kindly at Undine, " I set out on my 
enterprise. The stems of the trees caught the 
red tints of the morning light which lay brightly 
on the green turf, the leaves seemed whispering 
merrily with each other, and in my heart I could 
have laughed at the people who could have ex- 
pected anything to terrify them in this pleasant 
spot. ' I shall soon have trotted through the 
forest there and back again,' I said to myself, 
with a feeling of easy gayety ; and before I had 
even thought of it I was deep within the green 
shades, and could no longer perceive the plain 
which lay behind me. Then for the first time it 
struck me that I might easily lose my way in 
the mighty forest, and that this perhaps was the 
only danger which the wanderer had to fear. I 
therefore paused and looked round in the direc- 
tion of the sun, which in the meanwhile had 
risen somewhat higher above the horizon. While 
I was thus looking up, I saw something black in 



The Knight in the Wood. 



3 1 



the branches of a lofty oak. I thought it was a 
bear, and I grasped my sword ; but with a human 
voice, that sounded harsh and ugly, it called to me 
from above : ' If I do not nibble away the branches 
up here, Sir Malapert, what shall we have to roast 
you with at midnight ? ' And so saying it grinned 
and made the branches rustle, so that my horse 
grew furious, and rushed forward with me before 
I had time to see what sort of a demon it really 
was." 

" You must not call it so," said the old fisher- 
man as he crossed himself ; his wife did the same 
silently. Undine looked at the knight with spark- 
ling eyes and said: " The best of the story is that 
they certainly have not roasted him yet ; go on 
now, you beautiful youth." 

The knight continued his narration : " My horse 
was so wild that he almost rushed with me against 
the stems and branches of trees; he was dripping 
with sweat, and yet would not suffer himself to be 
held in. At last he went straight in the direction 
of a rocky precipice ; then it suddenly seemed to 
me as if a tall white man threw himself across the 
path of my wild steed ; the horse trembled with 
fear and stopped ; I recovered my hold of him, 
and for the first time perceived that my deliverer 
was no white man, but a brook of silvery bright- 
ness, rushing down from a hill by my side and 
crossing and impeding my horse's course." 



3 2 



Undine. 



" Thanks, dear Brook," exclaimed Undine, clap- 
ping her little hands. The old man, however, 
shook his head and looked down in deep thought. 

" I had# scarcely settled myself in the saddle," 
continued Huldbrand, "and seized the reins 
firmly, when a wonderful little man stood at my 
side, small, and ugly beyond conception. His 
complexion was of a yellowish brown, and his 
nose not much smaller than the rest of his entire 
person. He grinned with stupid courtesy, ex- 
hibiting his huge mouth, and making a thousand 
scrapes and bows to me. 

" As this farce was now becoming inconvenient 
to me, I thanked him briefly and turned about 
my still trembling steed, thinking either to seek 
another adventure, or in case I met with none, 
to find my way back, for during my wild chase 
the sun had already passed the meridian ; but the 
little fellow sprang round with the speed of light- 
ning and stood again before my horse. 

" ' Room ! ' I cried, angrily, ' the animal is wild 
and may easily run over you ! ' — ' Ay, ay!' snarled 
the imp, with a grin still more horribly stupid. 
' Give me first some drink-money, for I have 
stopped your horse ; without me you and your 
horse would be now both lying in the stony ravine, 
ugh ! ' — ' Don't make any more faces,' said I, 
'and take your money, even if you are telling 
lies; for see, it was the good brook there that 



The Knight in the Wood. 



33 



saved me, and not you, you miserable wight ! ' 
And at the same time I dropped a piece of gold 
into his grotesque cap, which he had taken off in 
his begging. 

" I then trotted on ; but he screamed after me, 
and suddenly with inconceivable quickness was 
at my side. I urged my horse into a gallop ; the 
imp ran too, making at the same time strange 
contortions with his body, half-ridiculous, half- 
horrible, and, holding up the gold-piece, he cried 
at every leap, ' False money ! false coin ! false 
coin ! false money ! ' — and this he uttered with 
such a hollow sound that one would have sup- 
posed that after every scream he would have fallen 
dead to the ground. 

" His horrid red tongue, moreover, hung far out 
of his mouth. I stopped, perplexed, and asked: 
' What do you mean by this screaming ? Take 
another piece of gold, take two, but leave me.' 
He then began again his hideous burlesque of 
politeness, and snarled out: 'Not gold, not gold, 
my young gentleman. I have too much of that 
trash myself, as I will show you at once ! ' 

" Suddenly it seemed to me as if I could see 
through the solid soil, as though it were green 
glass, and the smooth earth were as round as a 
ball, and within a multitude of goblins were mak- 
ing sport with silver and gold ; head over heels 
they were rolling about, pelting each other in jest 



34 



Undine. 



with the precious metals, and provokingly blowing 
the gold-dust into each other's eyes. My hideous 
companion stood partly within and partly without ; 
he ordered the others to reach him up heaps of 
gold, and showing it to me with a laugh, he then 
flung it back again with a ringing noise into the 
immeasurable abyss. 

" He then showed the piece of gold I had given 
him to the goblins below, and they laughed them- 
selves half-dead over it and hissed at me. At last 
they all pointed at me with their metal-stained 
fingers, and more and more wildly, and more and 
more densely, and more and more madly, the 
swarm of spirits came clambering up to me. I 
was seized with terror as my horse had been be- 
fore ; I put spurs to him, and I know not how far I 
galloped, for the second time, wildly into the forest. 

" At length, when I again halted, the coolness 
of evening W as around me. Through the branches 
of the trees I saw a white foot-path gleaming, which 
I fancied must lead from the forest toward the 
city. I was anxious to work my way in that di- 
rection ; but a face perfectly white and indistinct, 
with features ever changing, kept peering at me 
between the leaves ; I tried to avoid it, but wher- 
ever I went it appeared also. 

" Enraged at this, I determined at last to ride at 
it, when it gushed forth volumes of foam upon me 
and my horse, obliging us, half blinded, to make 



The Knight in the Wood. 35 



a rapid retreat. Thus it drove us step by step 
ever away from the foot-path, leaving the way 
open to us only in one direction. When we 
advanced in this direction, it kept indeed close 
behind us, but did not do us the slightest harm. 

" Looking around at it occasionally, I perceived 
that the white face that had besprinkled us with 
foam belonged to a form equally white and of 
gigantic stature. Many a time I thought that it 
was a moving stream, but I could never convince 
myself on the subject. Wearied out, the horse 
and his rider yielded to the impelling power of 
the white man, who kept nodding his head, as if 
he would say, ' Quite right, quite right ! ' And 
thus at last we came out here to the end of the 
forest, where I saw the turf, and the lake, and 
your little cottage, and where the tall white man 
disappeared." 

" It's well that he's gone," said the old fisher- 
man ; and now he began to talk of the best way 
by which his guest could return to his friends in 
the city. Upon this Undine began to laugh slyly 
to herself ; Huldbrand observed it, and said : " I 
thought you were glad to see me here ; why then 
do you now rejoice when my departure is talked 
of?" 

" Because you cannot go away," replied Un- 
dine. " Just try, for once, to cross that overflowed 
forest stream with a boat, with your horse, or 



36 Undine. 

alone, as you may fancy. Or rather don't try it, 
for you would be dashed to pieces by the stones 
and trunks of trees which are carried down by it 
with the speed of lightning. And as to the lake, 
I know it well ; father dare not venture out far 
enough with his boat." 

Huldbrand rose, smiling, in order to see whether 
things were as Undine had said ; the old man 
accompanied him, and the girl danced merrily 
along by their side. They found everything, in- 
deed, as Undine had described, and the knight 
was obliged to submit to remain on the little 
tongue of land, that had become an island, till the 
flood should subside. As the three were return- 
ing to the cottage after their ramble, the knight 
whispered in the ear of the little maiden : " Well, 
how is it, my pretty Undine, — are you angry at 
my remaining ? " 

" Ah ! " she replied, peevishly, " let me alone. 
If I had not bitten you, who knows how much of 
Bertalda would have appeared in your story ? " 



CHAPTER V. 



HOW THE KNIGHT LIVED ON THE LITTLE 
PROMONTORY. 

FTER having been much driven to and fro in 



the world, you have perhaps, my dear reader, 
reached at length some spot where all was well 
with thee ; where the love for home and its calm 
peace, innate to all, has again sprung up within 
thee; where thou hast thought that this home 
was rich with all the flowers of childhood and of 
the purest, deepest love that rests upon the graves 
of those that are gone, and thou hast felt it must 
be good to dwell here and to build habitations. 
Even if thou hast erred in this, and hast had 
afterward bitterly to atone for the error, that is 
nothing to the purpose now, and thou wouldst 
not, indeed, voluntarily sadden thyself with the 
unpleasant recollection. But recall that inexpres- 
sibly sweet foreboding, that angelic sense of peace, 




37 



38 



Undine. 



and thou wilt know somewhat of the knight 
Huldbrand's feelings. 

He often perceived with hearty satisfaction, 
during his abode on the little promontory, that the 
forest stream rolled along every day more wildly, 
making its bed ever broader and broader, and 
prolonging his sojourn on the island to an indefi- 
nite period. Part of the day he rambled about 
with an old cross-bow which he had found in a 
corner of the cottage and had repaired; and, 
watching for the water-fowl, he killed all that he 
could for the cottage kitchen. When he brought 
his booty home, Undine rarely neglected to up- 
braid him with having so cruelly deprived the 
happy birds of life ; indeed she often wept bitterly 
at the sight he placed before her. But if he came 
home another time without having shot anything, 
she scolded him no less seriously, since now, from 
his carelessness and want of skill, they had to be 
satisfied with living on fish. He always delighted 
heartily in her graceful little scoldings, all the 
more as she generally strove to compensate for 
her ill-humor by the sweetest caresses. 

The old people took pleasure in the intimacy 
of the young pair; they regarded them as be- 
trothed, or even as already united in marriage, 
and living on this isolated spot as a succor and 
support to them in their old age. It was this 
same sense of seclusion that suggested the idea 



How the Knight Lived. 



39 



also to Huldbrand's mind that he was already Un- 
dine's accepted one. He felt as if there were 
no world beyond these surrounding waters, or as 
if he could never recross them to mingle with 
other men ; and when at times his grazing horse 
would neigh, as if inquiringly to remind him of 
knightly deeds, or when the coat of arms on his 
embroidered saddle and horse-gear shone sternly 
upon him, or when his beautiful sword would sud- 
denly fall from the nail on which it was hanging 
in the cottage, gliding from the scabbard as it 
fell, he would quiet the doubts of his mind by 
saying: "Undine is no fisherman's daughter; 
she belongs, in all probability, to some illustrious 
family abroad." There was only one thing to 
which he had a strong aversion, and this was when 
the old dame reproved Undine in his presence. 
The wayward girl, it is true, laughed at it for the 
most part, without attempting to conceal her 
mirth ; but it seemed to him as if his honor were 
concerned, and yet he could not blame the old 
fisherman's wife, for Undine always deserved at 
least ten times as many reproofs as she received ; 
so, in his heart, he felt the balance in favor of the 
old woman, and his whole life flowed onward in 
calm enjoyment. 

There came, however, an interruption at last. 
The fisherman and the knight had been accus- 
tomed at their mid-day meal, and also in the even- 



4 o 



Undine. 



ing when the wind roared without, as it was 
always wont to do toward night, to enjoy together 
a flask of wine. But now the store which the 
fisherman had from time to time brought with 
him from the town, was exhausted, and the two 
men were quite out of humor in consequence. 

Undine laughed at them excessively all day, 
but they were neither of them merry enough to 
join in her jests, as usual. Toward evening she 
went out of the cottage, to avoid, as she said, two 
such long and tiresome faces. As twilight ad- 
vanced, there were again tokens of a storm, and 
the water rushed and roared. Full of alarm, the 
knight and the fisherman sprang to the door, to 
bring home the girl, remembering the anxiety of 
that night when Huldbrand had first come to the 
cottage. Undine, however, met them, clapping 
her little hands with delight. " What will you 
give me," she said, " to provide you with wine ? " 
or rather, " You need not give me anything," she 
continued, " for I am satisfied if you will look 
merrier and be in better spirits than you have 
been throughout this whole wearisome day. Only 
come with me ; the forest stream has driven 
ashore a cask, and I will be condemned to sleep 
through a whole week if it is not a wine-cask." 
The men followed her, and in a sheltered creek 
on the shore, they actually found a cask which 
inspired them with the hope that it contained 



How the Knight Lived. 



4i 



the generous drink for which they were 
thirsting. 

They at once rolled it as quickly as possible 
toward the cottage, for the western sky was over- 
cast with heavy storm-clouds, and they could 
observe in the twilight the waves of the lake 
raising their white, foaming heads, as if looking 
out for the rain which was presently to pour down 
upon them. 

Undine helped the men as much as she was 
able, and when the storm of rain suddenly burst 
over them, she said, with a merry threat to the 
heavy clouds : " Come, come, take care that you 
don't wet us ; we are still some way from shelter." 
The old man reproved her for this, as simple pre- 
sumption; but she laughed softly to herself, and 
no mischief befell any one in consequence of her 
levity. Nay, more, contrary to all expectation, 
they reached the comfortable hearth, with their 
booty, perfectly dry, and it was not till they had 
opened the cask, and had proved that it contained 
some wonderfully excellent wine, that the rain 
burst forth from the dark cloud, and the storm 
raged among the tops of the trees, and over the 
agitated billows of the lake. 

Several bottles were soon filled from the great 
cask, which promised a supply for many days, 
and they were sitting jesting round the glowing 
fire, feeling comfortably secure from the raging 



42 



Undine. 



storm without. Suddenly the old fisherman 
became very grave, and said : " Ah, here we 
are rejoicing over this rich treasure, and he 
to whom it once belonged, and of whom the 
floods have robbed it, has probably lost his 
precious life in their waters." 

" That he has not," declared Undine, as she 
smilingly filled the knight's cup to the brim. 

But Huldbrand replied: "By my honor, old 
father, if I knew where to find and to rescue him, 
no knightly errand and no danger would I shirk. 
So much, however, I can promise you, that if ever 
again I reach more inhabited lands, I will find out 
the owner of this wine or his heirs, and requite it 
twofold, — nay, threefold." 

This delighted the old man ; he nodded approv- 
ingly to the knight, and drained his cup with a 
better conscience and greater pleasure. 

Undine, however, said to Huldbrand : " Do as* 
you will with your gold and your reimbursement ; 
but you spoke foolishly about the venturing out in 
search. I should cry my eyes out if you were lost 
in the attempt, — and isn't it true that you would 
yourself rather stay with me and the good wine ? " 

"Yes, indeed," answered Huldbrand, smiling. 

"Then," said Undine, "you spoke unwisely; 
for charity begins at home, — and what do other 
people concern us ? " 

The old woman turned away sighing and shak- 



How the Knight Lived. 43 



ing her head ; the fisherman forgot his wonted 
affection for the pretty girl and scolded her. 

" It sounds exactly," said he, as he finished his 
reproof, " as if Turks and heathens had brought 
you up ; may God forgive both me and you, you 
spoiled child." 

" Well," replied Undine, " for all that, it is what 
I feel, let who will have brought me up ; and all 
your words can't help that." 

" Silence !" exclaimed the fisherman; and Un- 
dine, who, in spite of her pertness, was exceed- 
ingly fearful, shrank from him, and, moving 
tremblingly toward Huldbrand, asked him, in a 
soft tone : " Are you also angry, dear friend ? " 

The knight pressed her tender hand and 
stroked her hair. He could say nothing, for 
vexation at the old man's severity toward Undine 
closed his lips; and thus the two couples sat 
opposite to each other, with angry feelings and 
embarrassed silence. 



CHAPTER VI. 



OF A NUPTIAL CEREMONY. 

ALOW knocking at the door was heard in 
the midst of this stillness, startling all the 
inmates of the cottage ; for there are times when 
a little circumstance, happening quite unexpect- 
edly, can unduly alarm us. But there was here 
the additional cause of alarm that the enchanted 
forest lay so near, and that the little promontory 
seemed just now inaccessible to human beings. 
They looked at each other doubtingly, as the knock- 
ing was repeated, accompanied by a deep groan, 
and the knight sprang to reach his sword. But 
the old man whispered softly : " If it be what I 
fear, no weapon will help us." 

Undine, meanwhile, approached the door, and 
called out angrily and boldly : " Spirits of the 

44 



A Nuptial Ceremony. 45 



earth, if you wish to carry on your mischief, 
Kiihleborn shall teach you something better." 

The terror of the rest was increased by these 
mysterious words ; they looked fearfully at the 
girl, and Huldbrand was just regaining courage 
enough to ask what she meant, when a voice said 
without: "I am no spirit of the earth, but a 
spirit indeed still within its earthly body. You 
within the cottage, if you fear God and will help 
me, open to me." 

At these words, Undine had already opened 
the door, and had held a lamp out in the stormy 
night, by which they perceived an aged priest 
standing there, who stepped back in terror at the 
unexpected sight of the beautiful maiden. He 
might well think that witchcraft and magic were 
at work when such a lovely form appeared at 
such an humble cottage door ; he therefore began 
to pray : " All good spirits praise the Lord ! " 

" I am no spectre," said Undine, smiling ; 
" do I then look so ugly ? Besides, you may see 
the holy words do not frighten me. I too know 
of God, and understand how to praise Him ; 
every one, to be sure, in his own way, for so He 
has created us. Come in, venerable father; you 
come among good people." 

The holy man entered, bowing and looking 
round him with a profound yet tender demeanor. 
But the water was dropping from every fold of 



4 6 



Undine. 



his dark garment, and from his long white beard, 
and from his gray locks. The fisherman and 
the knight took him to another apartment and 
furnished him with other clothes, while they gave 
the women his own wet attire to dry. 

The aged stranger thanked them humbly and 
courteously, but he would on no account accept 
the knight's splendid mantle, which was offered to 
him, but he chose instead an old gray overcoat 
belonging to the fisherman. They then returned 
to the apartment, and the good old dame immedi- 
ately vacated her easy-chair for the reverend father, 
and would not rest till he had taken possession of 
it ; " For," said she, " you are old and exhausted, 
and you are, moreover, a man of God." 

Undine pushed under the stranger's feet her 
little stool, on which she had been wont to sit by 
the side of Huldbrand, and she showed herself in 
every way most gentle and kind in her care of the 
good old man. Huldbrand whispered some rail- 
lery at it in her ear, but she replied very seriously : 
" He is a servant of Him who created us all ; holy 
things are not to be jested with." 

The knight and the fisherman then refreshed 
their reverend guest with food and wine ; and 
when he had somewhat recovered himself, he be- 
gan to relate how he had the day before set out 
from his cloister, which lay far beyond the great 
lake, intending to travel to the bishop, in order to 



A Nuptial Ceremony. 



47 



acquaint him with the distress into which the 
monastery and its tributary villages had fallen on 
account of the extraordinary floods. 

After a long, circuitous route, which these very 
floods had obliged him to take, he had been this 
day compelled, toward evening, to procure the aid 
of a couple of good boatmen to cross an arm of 
the lake, which had overflowed its banks. 

" Scarcely, however," continued he, " had our 
small craft touched the waves, than that furious 
tempest burst forth which is now raging over our 
heads. It seemed as if the waters had only waited 
for us, to commence their wildest whirling dance 
with our little boat. The oars were soon torn 
out of the hands of my men, and were dashed by 
the force of the waves further and further beyond 
our reach. We ourselves, yielding to the resist- 
less powers of nature, helplessly drifted over the 
surging billows of the lake toward your distant 
shore, which we already saw looming through the 
mist and foam. Presently our boat turned round 
and round, as in a giddy whirlpool ; I know not 
whether it was upset, or whether I fell overboard. 
In a vague terror of inevitable death I drifted on, 
till a wave cast me here, under the trees on your 
island." 

" Yes, island ! " cried the fisherman ; " a short 
time ago it was only a point of land ; but now, 
since the forest stream and the lake have become 



48 



Undine. 



well-nigh bewitched, things are quite different 
with us." 

" I remarked something of the sort," said the 
priest, " as I crept along the shore in the dark, 
and hearing nothing but the uproar around me, I 
at last perceived that a beaten foot-path disap- 
peared just in the direction from which the sound 
proceeded. I now saw the light in your cottage, 
and ventured hither; and I cannot sufficiently 
thank my heavenly Father that after preserving 
me from the waters, He has led me to such good 
and pious people as you are; and I feel this all 
the more, as I do not know whether I shall ever 
behold any other beings in this world, except 
those I now address." 

" What do you mean ? " asked the fisherman. 

" Do you know then how long this commotion 
of the elements is to last ? " replied the holy man. 
" And I am old in years. Easily enough may the 
stream of my life run itself out before the over- 
flowing of the forest stream may subside. And 
indeed it were not impossible that more and more 
of the foaming waters may force their way be- 
tween you and yonder forest, until you are so far 
sundered from the rest of the world that your 
little fishing-boat will no longer be sufficient to 
carry you across, and the inhabitants of the con- 
tinent, in the midst of their diversions, will have 
entirely forgotten you in your old age." 



A Nuptial Ceremony. 



49 



The fisherman's wife started at this, crossed 
herself, and exclaimed, " God forbid ! " But her 
husband looked at her with a smile, and said : 
" What creatures we are after all ! even were it so, 
things would not be very different — at least not 
for you, dear wife — than they now are. For 
have you for many years been further than the 
edge of the forest? and have you seen any other 
human beings than Undine and myself? The 
knight and this holy man have only come to us 
lately. They will remain with us if we do become 
a forgotten island ; so you would even be a gainer 
by it after all." 

" I don't know," said the old woman ; " it is 
somehow a gloomy thought, when one imagines 
that one is irrevocably separated from other peo- 
ple, although, were it otherwise, one might neither 
know nor see them." 

" Then you will remain with us ! then you will 
remain with us ! " whispered Undine, in a low, 
half-singing tone, as she nestled closer to Huld- 
brand's side. But he was absorbed in the deep 
and strange visions of his own mind. 

The region on the other side of the forest river 
seemed to dissolve into distance during the priest's 
last words; and the blooming island upon which 
he lived grew more green, and smiled more freshly 
in his mind's vision. His beloved one glowed as 
the fairest rose of this little spot of earth, and even 



Undine. 



of the whole world, and the priest was actually 
there. Added to this, at that moment an angry 
glance from the old dame was directed at the 
beautiful girl, because even in the presence of the 
reverend father she leaned so closely on the knight, 
and it seemed as if a torrent of reproving words 
were on the point of following. 

Presently, turning to the priest, Huldbrand 
broke forth : " Venerable father, you see before 
you here a pair pledged to each other ; and if this 
maiden and these good old people have no objec- 
tion, you shall unite us this very evening." The 
aged couple were extremely surprised. They 
had, it is true, hitherto often thought of some- 
thing of the sort; but they had never yet ex- 
pressed it, and when the knight now spoke thus, 
it came upon them as something wholly new and 
unprecedented. 

Undine had become suddenly grave, and looked 
down thoughtfully while the priest inquired re- 
specting the circumstances of the case, and asked 
if the old people gave their consent. After much 
discussion together, the matter was settled ; the 
old dame went to arrange the bridal chamber for 
the young people, and to look out two tapers 
which she had had in her possession for some 
time, and which she thought essential to the 
nuptial ceremony. The knight in the meanwhile 
examined his gold chain, from which he wished 



The Nuptials. 



5 2 



Undine. 



to disengage two rings, that he might make an 
exchange of them with his bride. 

She, however, observing what he was doing, 
started up from her revery, and exclaimed : " Not 
so ! my parents have not sent me into the world 
quite destitute ; on the contrary, they must have 
anticipated with certainty that such an evening as 
this would come." Thus saying, she quickly left 
the room, and reappeared in a moment with two 
costly rings, one of which she gave to her bride- 
groom, and kept the other for herself. The old 
fisherman was extremely astonished at this, and 
still more so his wife, who just then entered; for 
neither had ever seen these jewels in the child's 
possession. 

"My parents," said Undine, "sewed these little 
things into the beautiful frock which I had on 
when I came to you. They forbid me, moreover, 
to mention them to any one before my wedding 
evening, so I secretly took them, and kept them 
concealed until now." 

The priest interrupted all further questionings 
by lighting the tapers, which he placed upon a 
table, and summoned the bridal pair to stand op- 
posite to him. He then gave them to each other 
with a few short solemn words; the elder couple 
gave their blessing to the younger, and the bride, 
trembling and thoughtful, leaned upon the knight. 

Then the priest suddenly said : " You are strange 



A Nuptial Ceremony. 53 



people after all. Why did you tell me you were 
the only people here on the island ? and during 
the whole ceremony, a tall, stately man, in a white 
mantle, has been looking at me through the win- 
dow opposite. He must still be standing before 
the door, to see if you will invite him to come into 
the house." 

" God forbid," said the old dame, with a start ; 
the fisherman shook his head in silence, and Huld- 
brand sprang to the window. It seemed even to 
him as if he could still see a white streak ; but it 
soon completely disappeared in the darkness. He 
convinced the priest that he must have been abso- 
lutely mistaken, and they all sat down together 
round the hearth. 




CHAPTER VII. 

WHAT FURTHER HAPPENED ON THE EVENING OF THE 
WEDDING. 

BOTH before and during the ceremony, Un- 
dine had shown herself gentle and quiet ; 
but it now seemed as if all the wayward humors 
which rioted within her burst forth all the more 
boldly and unrestrainedly. She teased her bride- 
groom and her foster-parents, and even the holy 
man whom she had so lately reverenced, with all 
sorts of childish tricks ; and when the old woman 
was about to reprove her, she was quickly silenced 
by a few grave words from the knight, speaking 
of Undine now as his wife. 

Nevertheless, the knight himself was little 
pleased with Undine's childish behavior ; but 
no signs and no reproachful words were of any 
avail. It is true, whenever the bride noticed 

54 



What further Happened. 55 



her husband's dissatisfaction, — and this occurred 
occasionally, — she became more quiet, sat down 
by his side, caressed him, whispered something 
smilingly into his ear, and smoothed the wrinkles 
that were gathering on his brow. But immedi- 
ately afterward, some wild freak would again lead 
her to return to her ridiculous proceedings, and 
matters would be worse than before. 

At length the priest said in a serious and kind 
tone : " My fair young maiden, no one indeed can 
look at you without delight ; but remember so to 
attune your soul betimes that it may ever harmo- 
nize with that of your wedded husband." 

"Soul!" said Undine, laughing; "that sounds 
pretty enough, and may be a very edifying and 
useful caution for most people. But when one 
hasn't a soul at all, I beg you, what is there to 
attune then ? — and that is my case." The priest 
was silent and deeply wounded, and with holy 
displeasure he turned his face from the girl. She, 
however, went up to him caressingly, and said : 
" No ! listen to me first, before you look angry ; 
for your look of anger gives me pain, and you 
must not give pain to any creature who has done 
you no wrong, — only have patience with me, and 
I will tell you properly what I mean." 

It was evident that she was preparing herself 
to explain something in detail ; but suddenly she 
hesitated, as if seized with an inward shuddering, 



56 



Undine. 



and burst out into a flood of tears. They none 
of them knew what to make of this ebullition, 
and, filled with various apprehensions, they gazed 
at her in silence. 

At length, wiping away her tears, and looking 
earnestly at the reverend man, she said : " There 
must be something beautiful, but at the same time 
extremely awful, about a soul. Tell me, holy sir, 
were it not better that we never shared such 
a gift ? " She was silent again, as if waiting for 
an answer, and her tears had ceased to flow. All 
in the cottage had risen from their seats, and had 
stepped back from her with horror. She, how- 
ever, seemed to have eyes for no one but the holy 
man ; her features wore an expression of fearful 
curiosity, which appeared terrible to those who 
saw her. " The soul must be a heavy burden," 
she continued, as no one answered her, — " very 
heavy ! for even its approaching image overshad- 
ows me with anxiety and sadness. And, ah ! I 
was so light-hearted and so merry till now!" 
And she burst into a fresh flood of tears, and 
covered her face with the drapery she wore. 
Then the priest went up to her with a solemn air, 
and spoke to her, and conjured her by the name 
of the Most Holy to cast aside the veil that envel- 
oped her, if any spirit of evil possessed her. But 
she sank on her knees before him, repeating all 
the sacred words he uttered, praising God, and 



What further Happened. 57 



protesting that she wished well with the whole 
world. 

Then at last the priest said to the knight : " Sir 
bridegroom, I will leave you alone with her whom 
I have united to you in marriage. So far as I can 
discover there is nothing of evil in her, but much 
indeed that is mysterious. I commend to you — 
prudence, love, and fidelity." So saying, he went 
out, and the fisherman and his wife followed him, 
crossing themselves. 

Undine had sunk on her knees. She unveiled 
her face and said, looking timidly round on Huld- 
brand: "Alas! you will surely now not keep me 
as your own; and yet I have done no evil, poor 
child that I am ! " As she said this, she looked 
so exquisitely graceful and touching that her 
bridegroom forgot all the horror he had felt, and 
all the mystery that clung to her, and hastening 
to her he raised her in his arms. She smiled 
through her tears ; it was a smile like the morn- 
ing-light playing on a little stream. " You cannot 
leave me," she whispered, with confident security, 
stroking the knight's cheek with her tender hand. 
Huldbrand tried to dismiss the fearful thoughts 
that still lurked in the background of his mind, 
persuading him that he was married to a fairy or 
to some malicious and mischievous being of the 
spirit world ; only the single question, half una- 
wares, escaped his lips : " My little Undine, tell 



58 



Undine. 



me this one thing, — what was it you said of 
spirits of the earth and of Kiihleborn, when the 
priest knocked at the door ? " 

" It was nothing but fairy tales ! — children's 
fairy tales ! " said Undine, with all her wonted 
gayety ; " I frightened you at first with them, and 
then you frightened me ; that's the end of our 
story and of our nuptial evening." 

" Nay ! that it isn't," said the knight, intoxicated 
with love ; and extinguishing the tapers, he bore 
his beautiful beloved to the bridal chamber, by the 
light of the moon, which shone brightly through 
the windows. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



THE DAY AFTER THE WEDDING. 

THE fresh light of the morning awoke the 
young married pair. Wonderful and horri- 
ble dreams had disturbed Huldbrand's rest: he 
had been haunted by spectres, who, grinning at 
him by stealth, had tried to disguise themselves 
as beautiful women, and from beautiful women 
they all at once assumed the faces of dragons ; 
and when he started up from these hideous visions, 
the moonlight shone pale and cold into the room. 
Terrified, he looked at Undine, who still lay in 
unaltered beauty and grace. Then he would 
press a light kiss upon her rosy lips, and would 
fall asleep again, only to be awakened by new 
terrors. 

After he had reflected on all this, now that he 
was fully awake, he reproached himself for any 

59 



6o 



Undine. 



doubt that could have led him into error with re- 
gard to his beautiful wife. He begged her to for- 
give him for the injustice he had done her; but she 
only held out to him her fair hand, sighed deeply, 
and remained silent. But a glance of exquisite 
fervor beamed from her eyes, such as he had 
never seen before, carrying with it the full assur- 
ance that Undine bore him no ill-will. He then 
rose cheerfully and left her, to join his friends in 
the common apartment. 

He found the three sitting round the hearth, 
with an air of anxiety about them, as if they dared 
not venture to speak aloud. The priest seemed 
to be praying in his inmost spirit that all evil 
might be averted. When, however, they saw the 
young husband come forth so cheerfully, the care- 
worn expression of their faces vanished. 

The old fisherman even began to jest with the 
knight, so pleasantly that the aged wife smiled 
good-humoredly as she listened to them. Undine 
at length made her appearance. All rose to meet 
her, and all stood still with surprise, for the young 
wife seemed so strange to them, and yet the same. 
The priest was the first to advance toward her, 
with paternal affection beaming in his face; and, 
as he raised his hand to bless her, the beautiful 
woman sank reverently on her knees before him. 
With a few humble and Gracious words she beo-aed 
him to forgive her any foolish things she might 



The Day after the Wedding. 61 

have said the evening before, and entreated him 
in an agitated tone to pray for the welfare of her 
soul. She then rose, kissed her foster-parents, 
and thanking them for all the goodness they had 
shown her, she exclaimed : " Oh ! I now feel in 
my innermost heart how much, how infinitely 
much, you have done for me, dear, kind people ! " 
She could not at first desist from her caresses ; 
but scarcely had she perceived that the old woman 
was busy in preparing breakfast, than she went to 
the hearth, cooked and arranged the meal, and 
would not suffer the good old mother to take the 
least trouble. 

She continued thus throughout the whole day, 
quiet, kind, and attentive, — at once a little matron 
and a tender, bashful girl. The three who had 
known her longest expected every moment to see 
some whimsical vagary of her capricious spirit 
burst forth. But they waited in vain for it. 
Undine remained as mild and gentle as an angel. 
The holy father could not take his eyes from her, 
and he said repeatedly to the bridegroom : " The 
goodness of Heaven, sir, has intrusted a treasure 
to you yesterday through me, unworthy as I am ; 
cherish it as you ought, and it will promote your 
temporal and eternal welfare." 

Toward evening Undine was hanging on the 
knight's arm with humble tenderness, and drew 
him gently out of the door, where the declining 



62 



Undine. 



sun was shining pleasantly on the fresh grass, and 
upon the tall, slender stems of the trees. The 
eyes of the young wife were moist, as with the 
dew of sadness and love, and a tender and fearful 
secret seemed hovering on her lips, which, how- 
ever, was only disclosed by scarcely audible sighs. 

She led her husband onward and onward in 
silence ; when he spoke, she only answered him 
with looks, in which, it is true, there lay no direct 
reply to his inquiries, but a whole heaven of love 
and timid devotion. Thus they reached the edge 
of the swollen forest stream, and the knight was 
astonished to see it rippling along in gentle waves, 
without a trace of its former wildness and swell. 
" By the morning it will be quite dry," said the 
beautiful wife, in a regretful tone, " and you can 
then travel away wherever you will, without any- 
thing to hinder you." 

" Not without you, my little Undine," replied 
the knight, laughing ; " remember, even if I wished 
to desert you, the church, and the spiritual powers, 
and the emperor, and the empire would interpose 
and bring the fugitive back again." 

" All depends upon you, all depends upon you," 
whispered his wife, half-weeping and half-smiling. 
" I think, however, nevertheless, that you will keep 
me with you, I love you so heartily. Now carry 
me across to that little island that lies before us. 
The matter shall be decided there. I could easily 



The Day after the Wedding. 63 



indeed glide through the rippling waves, but it is 
so restful in your arms ; and if you were to cast me 
off, I shall have sweetly rested in them once more 
for the last time." Huldbrand, full as he was of 
strange fear and emotion, knew not what to reply. 

He took her in his arms and carried her across, 
remembering now for the first time that this was 
the same little island from which he had borne 
her back to the old fisherman on that first night. 
On the further side he put her down on the soft 
grass, and was on the point of placing himself 
lovingly near his beautiful burden, when she said : 
" No, there, opposite to me ! I will read my sen- 
tence in your eyes, before your lips speak ; now, 
listen attentively to what I will relate to you." 
And she began : — 

" You must know, my loved one, that there are 
beings in the elements which almost appear like 
mortals, and which rarely allow themselves to 
become visible to your race. Wonderful sala- 
manders glitter and sport in the flames ; lean and 
malicious gnomes dwell deep within the earth ; 
spirits, belonging to the air, wander through the 
forests, and a vast family of water-spirits live in 
the lakes, and streams, and brooks. In resound- 
ing domes of crystal, through which the sky looks 
in with its sun and stars, these latter spirits find 
their beautiful abode; lofty trees of coral with 
blue and crimson fruits gleam in their gardens ; 



64 



Undine. 



they wander over the pure sand of the sea, and 
among lovely variegated shells, and amid all ex- 
quisite treasures of the old world, which the 
present is no longer worthy to enjoy; all these 
the floods have covered with their secret veils of 
silver, and the noble monuments sparkle below, 
stately and solemn, and bedewed by the loving 
waters which allure from them many a beautiful 
moss-flower and entwining cluster of sea-grass. 
Those, however, who dwell there are very fair 
and lovely to behold, and for the most part are 
more beautiful than human beings. Many a 
fisherman has been so fortunate as to surprise 
some tender mermaid as she rose above the waters 
and sang. He would tell afar of her beauty; 
and such wonderful beings have been given the 
name of Undines. You, however, are now actu- 
ally beholding an Undine." 

The knight tried to persuade himself that his 
beautiful wife was under the spell of one of her 
strange humors, and that she was taking pleasure 
in teasing him with one of her extravagant inven- 
tions. But repeatedly as he said this to himself, 
he could not believe it for a moment ; a strange 
shudder passed through him ; unable to utter a 
word, he stared at the beautiful narrator with an 
immovable gaze. Undine shook her head sorrow- 
fully, drew a deep sigh, and then proceeded as 
follows : — 



The Day after the Wedding. 65 



" Our condition would be far superior to that 
of other human beings, — for human beings we 
call ourselves, being similar to them in form and 
culture, — but there is one evil peculiar to us. 
We, and our like in the other elements, vanish 
into dust and pass away, body and spirit, so that 
not a vestige of us remains behind; and when 
you mortals hereafter awake to a purer life, we 
remain with the sand and the sparks and the wind 
and the waves. Hence, we have also no souls ; # 
the element moves us, and is often obedient to us 
while we live, though it scatters us to dust when 
we die ; and we are merry, without having aught 
to grieve us, — merry as the nightingales and the 
little gold-fishes and other pretty children of 
nature. But all things aspire to be higher than 
they are. Thus, my father, who is a powerful 
water-prince in the Mediterranean Sea, desired 
that his only daughter should become possessed 
of a soul, even though she must then endure many 
of the sufferings of those thus endowed. Such 
as we are, however, can only obtain a soul by the 
closest union of affection with one of your human 
race. I am now possessed of a soul, and my soul 
thanks you, my inexpressibly beloved one, and it 
will ever thank you, if you do not make my whole 
life miserable. For what is to become of me, if 
you avoid and reject me ? Still, I would not 
retain you by deceit. And if you mean to reject 



66 



Undine. 



me, do so now, and return alone to the shore. I 
will dive into this brook, which is my uncle, and 
here in the forest, far removed from other friends, 
he passes his strange and solitary life. He is, 
however, powerful, and is esteemed and beloved 
by many great streams ; and as he brought me 
hither to the fisherman, a light-hearted, laughing 
child, he will take me back again to my parents, 
a loving, suffering, and soul-endowed woman." 

She was about to say still more, but Huldbrand 
embraced her with the most heartfelt emotion and 
love, and bore her back again to the shore. It 
was not till he reached it that he swore, amid 
tears and kisses, never to forsake his sweet wife, 
calling himself more happy than the Greek Pyg- 
malion, whose beautiful statue received life from 
Venus and became his loved one. In endearing 
confidence, Undine walked back to the cottage, 
leaning on his arm ; feeling now for the first time, 
with all her heart, how little she ought to regret the 
forsaken crystal palaces of her mysterious father. 




CHAPTER IX. 

HOW THE KNIGHT TOOK HIS YOUNG WIFE WITH HIM. 

WHEN Huldbrand awoke from his sleep on 
the following morning, and missed his 
beautiful wife from his side, he began to indulge 
again in the strange thoughts that his marriage 
and the charming Undine herself were but fleet- 
ing and deceptive illusions. But at the same 
moment she entered the room, sat down beside 
him, and said : " I have been out rather early to 
see if my uncle keeps his word. He has already 
led all the waters back again into his own calm 
channel, and he now flows through the forest, 
solitarily and dreamily as before. His friends in 
the water and the air have also returned to repose ; 
all will again go on quietly and regularly, and you 
can travel homeward when you will, dry-shod." 

It seemed to Huldbrand as though he were in 
a waking dream, so little could he reconcile him- 

67 



68 



Undine. 



self to the strange relationship of his wife. Never- 
theless he made no remark on the matter, and the 
exquisite grace of his bride soon lulled to rest 
every uneasy misgiving. When he was after- 
ward standing before the door with her, and look- 
ing over the green peninsula with its boundary of 
clear waters, he felt so happy in this cradle of his 
love, that he exclaimed: " Why shall we travel so 
soon as to-day? We shall scarcely find more 
pleasant days in the world yonder than those we 
have spent in this quiet little shelter. Let us yet 
see the sun go down here twice or thrice more." 

" As my lord wills," replied Undine, humbly. 
" It is only that the old people will, at all events, 
part from me with pain ; and when they now for 
the first time perceive the true soul within me, 
and how I can now heartily love and honor, their 
feeble eyes will be dimmed with plentiful tears. 
At present they consider my quietness and gen- 
tleness of no better promise than before, like the 
calmness of the lake when the air is still ; and, as 
matters now are, they will soon learn to cherish a 
flower or a tree as they have cherished me. Do 
not, therefore, let me reveal to them this newly 
bestowed and loving heart, just at the moment 
when they must lose it for this world ; and how 
could I conceal it, if we remain longer together?" 

Huldbrand conceded the point ; he went to the 
aged people and talked with them over the jour- 




The Wedding Journey. 



7° 



Undine. 



ney which he proposed to undertake immediately. 
The holy father offered to accompany the young 
married pair; and, after a hasty farewell, he and 
the knight assisted the beautiful bride to mount 
her horse, and walked with rapid step by her side 
over the dry channel of the forest stream into the 
wood beyond. Undine wept silently but bitterly, 
and the old people gave loud expression to their 
grief. It seemed as if they had a presentiment of 
all they were now losing in their foster-child. 

The three travellers had reached in silence the 
densest shades of the forest. It must have been 
a fair sight, under that green canopy of leaves, to 
see Undine's lovely form, as she sat on her noble 
and richly ornamented steed, with the venerable 
priest in the white garb of his order on one side 
of her, and on the other the blooming young 
knight in his gay and splendid attire, with his 
sword at his girdle. Huldbrand had no eyes but 
for his beautiful wife ; Undine, who had dried her 
tears, had no eyes but for him, and they soon fell 
into a mute, voiceless converse of glance and ges- 
ture, from which they were only roused at length 
by the low talking of the reverend father with 
a fourth traveller, who in the mean while had 
joined them unobserved. 

He wore a white garment almost resembling 
the dress of the priest's order, except that his hood 
hung low over his face, and his whole attire floated 



The Knight and his Wife Depart. 71 

round him in such vast folds that he was obliged 
every moment to gather it up, and throw it over 
his arm, or dispose of it in some way, and yet it 
did not in the least seem to impede his move- 
ments. When the young couple first perceived 
him, he was just saying: "And so, venerable sir, 
I have now dwelt for many years here in the for- 
est, and yet no one could call me a hermit, in your 
sense of the word. For, as I said, I know nothing 
of penance, and I do not think I have any especial 
need of it. I love the forest only for this reason, 
that its beauty is quite peculiar to itself, and it 
amuses me to pass along in my flowing white gar- 
ments among the leaves and dusky shadows, while 
now and then a sweet sunbeam shines down un- 
expectedly upon me." 

" You are a very strange man," replied the priest, 
"and I should like to be more closely acquainted 
with you." 

" And to pass from one thing to another, who 
may you be yourself ? " asked the stranger. 

" I am called Father Heilmann," said the holy 
man ; " and I come from the monastery of ' our 
Lady ' which lies on the other side of the lake." 

"Indeed," replied the stranger; " my name is 
Kuhleborn, and so far as courtesy is concerned, I 
might claim the title of Lord of Kuhleborn, or 
free Lord of Kuhleborn ; for I am as free as the 
birds in the forest and perhaps a little more so. 



7 2 



Undine. 



For example, I have now something to say to the 
young lady there." And before they were aware 
of his intention, he was at the other side of the 
priest, close beside Undine, stretching himself up 
to whisper something in her ear. 

But she turned from him with alarm, and ex- 
claimed : " I have nothing more to do with you." 

" Ho, ho," laughed the stranger, " what is this 
immensely grand marriage you have made, that 
you don't know your own relations any longer ? 
Have you forgotten your uncle Klihleborn, who 
so faithfully bore you on his back through this 
region ? " 

" I beg you, nevertheless," replied Undine, " not 
to appear in my presence again. I am now afraid 
of you ; and suppose my husband should learn to 
avoid me when he sees me in such strange com- 
pany and with such relations ! " 

" My little niece," said Klihleborn, " you must 
not forget that I am with you here as a guide ; 
the spirits of earth that haunt this place might 
otherwise play some of their stupid pranks with 
you. Let me therefore go quietly on with you ; 
the old priest there remembered me better than 
you appear to have done, for he assured me just 
now that I seemed familiar to him, and that I 
must have been with him in the boat, out of which 
he fell into the water. I was so, truly enough ; 
for I was the water-spout that carried him out of 



4 

The Knight and his Wife Depart. 73 

it and washed him safely ashore for your wed- 
ding." 

Undine and the knight turned toward Father 
Heilmann ; but he seemed walking on, as in a sort - 
of dream, and no longer to be conscious of all that 
was passing. Undine then said to Kuhleborn: 
" I see yonder the end of the forest. We no 
longer need your help, and nothing causes us 
alarm but yourself. I beg you, therefore, in all 
love and good-will, vanish, and let us proceed in 
peace." 

Kuhleborn seemed to become angry at this ; 
his countenance assumed a frightful expression, 
and he grinned fiercely at Undine, who screamed 
aloud and called upon her husband for assistance. 
As quick as lightning, the knight sprang to the 
other side of the horse, and aimed his sharp sword 
at Kiihleborn's head. But the sword cut through 
a waterfall, which was rushing down near them 
from a lofty crag ; and with a splash, which almost 
sounded like a burst of laughter, it poured over 
them and wet them through to the skin. 

The priest, as if suddenly awaking, exclaimed : 
" I have long been expecting that, for the stream 
ran down from the height so close to us. At first 
it really seemed to me like a man, and as if it 
could speak." As the waterfall came rushing 
down, it distinctly uttered these words in Huld- 
brand's ear : — 



74 



Undine. 



" Rash knight, 

Brave knight, 

Rage feel I not, 

Chide will I not. 
But ever guard thy little wife as well, 
Rash knight, brave knight ! Protect her well ! " 

A few footsteps more, and they were upon open 
ground. The imperial city lay bright before 
them ; and the evening sun, which gilded its tow- 
ers, kindly dried the garments of the drenched 
wanderers. 



CHAPTER X. 



HOW THEY LIVED IN THE CITY. 

THE sudden disappearance of the young knight, 
Huldbrand von Ringstetten, from the impe- 
rial city had caused great sensation and solicitude 
among those who had admired him both for his 
skill in the tournament and the dance, and no less 
so for his gentle and agreeable manners. His ser- 
vants would not quit the place without their mas- 
ter, although not one of them would have had the 
courage to go in quest of him into the shadowy 
recesses of the forest. They therefore remained 
in their quarters, inactively hoping, as men are 
wont to do, and keeping alive the remembrance 
of their lost lord by their lamentations. 

When, soon after, the violent storms and floods 
were observed, the less doubt was entertained as 
to the certain destruction of the handsome stran- 
ger; and Bertalda openly mourned for him, and 

75 



76 



Undine. 



blamed herself for having allured the unfortunate 
knight into the forest. Her foster-parents, the 
duke and duchess, had come to fetch her away ; 
but Bertalda entreated them to remain with her 
until certain intelligence had been obtained of 
Huldbrand's fate. She endeavored to prevail 
upon several young knights, who were eagerly 
courting her, to follow the noble adventurer to 
the forest. But she would not pledge her 
hand as a reward of the enterprise, because she 
always cherished the hope of belonging to the 
returning knight ; and no glove nor ribbon, nor 
even kiss, would tempt any one to expose his life 
for the sake of bringing back such a dangerous 
rival. 

When Huldbrand now suddenly and unexpect- 
edly appeared, his servants and the inhabitants of 
the city and almost every one rejoiced. Bertalda 
alone refused to do so ; for, agreeable as it was to 
the others that he should bring with him such a 
beautiful bride, and Father Heilmann as a witness 
of the marriage, Bertalda could feel nothing but 
grief and vexation. In the first place, she had 
really loved the young knight with all her heart ; 
and in the next, her sorrow at his absence had 
proclaimed this far more before the eyes of all 
than was now befitting. 

She still, however, conducted herself as a wise 
maiden, reconciled herself to circumstances, and 



How they Lived in the City. 77 



lived on the most friendly terms with Undine, 
who was looked upon throughout the city as a 
princess whom Huldbrand had rescued in the for- 
est from some evil enchantment. When she or 
her husband were questioned on the matter, they 
were wise enough to be silent or to skilfully evade 
the inquiries. Father Heilmann's lips were sealed 
to idle gossip of any kind ; and, moreover, imme- 
diately after Huldbrand's arrival he had returned 
to his monastery ; so that people were obliged to 
be satisfied with their own strange conjectures, 
and even Bertalda herself knew no more of the 
truth than others. 

Day by day, Undine felt her affection increase 
for the fair maiden. " We must have known each 
other before," she often used to say to her, " or 
else there must be some mysterious connection 
between us ; for one does not love another as 
dearly as I have loved you from the first moment 
of our meeting without some cause, — some deep 
and secret cause." And Bertalda also could not 
deny the fact that she felt drawn to Undine with 
a tender feeling of confidence, however much she 
might consider that she had cause for the bitterest 
lamentation at this successful rival. Biassed by 
this mutual affection, they both persuaded, the 
one her foster-parents, the other her husband, to 
postpone the day of departure from time to time ; 
indeed, it was even proposed that Bertalda should 



78 



Undine. 



accompany Undine for a time to Castle Ring- 
stetten, near the source of the Danube. 

They were talking over this plan one beautiful 
evening, as they were walking by starlight in the 
large square of the imperial city, under the tall 
trees that enclose it. The young married pair 
had invited Bertalda to join them in their evening 
walk, and all three were strolling up and down 
under the dark-blue sky, often interrupting their 
familiar talk to admire the magnificent fountain 
in the middle of the square, as its waters rushed 
and bubbled forth with wonderful beauty. It had 
a soothing, happy influence upon them. Between 
the shadows of the trees there stole glimmerings 
of light from the adjacent houses ; a low murmur 
of children at play, and of others enjoying their 
walk, floated around them ; they were so alone, 
and yet in the midst of the bright and living world, 
whatever had appeared difficult by day now be- 
came smooth as of itself, and the three friends 
could no longer understand why the slightest 
hesitation had existed with regard to Bertalda's 
visit to Ringstetten. 

Presently, just as they were on the point of fix- 
ing the day for their common departure, a tall 
man approached them from the middle of the 
square, bowed respectfully to the company, and 
said something in the ear of the young wife. Dis- 
pleased as she was at the interruption and its cause, 



How they Lived in the City. 79 



she stepped a little aside with the stranger, and 
both began to whisper together, as it seemed in a 
foreign tongue. Huldbrand fancied he knew the 
strange man, and he stared so fixedly at him that 
he neither heard nor answered Bertalda's aston- 
ished inquiries. 

All at once, Undine, clapping her hands joy- 
fully and laughing, quitted the stranger's side, 
who, shaking his head, retired hastily and discon- 
tentedly, and vanished in the fountain. Huld- 
brand now felt certain on the point; but Bertalda 
asked : " And what did the master of the fountain 
want with you, dear Undine ? " 

The young wife laughed within herself, and 
replied : " The day after to-morrow, my dear child, 
on the anniversary of your name-day, you shall 
know it." And nothing more would she disclose. 
She invited Bertalda, and sent an invitation to her 
foster-parents, to dine with them on the appointed 
day, and soon after they parted. 

" Kuhleborn ? Was it Klihleborn ? " said Huld- 
brand, with a secret shudder, to his beautiful bride, 
when they had taken leave of Bertalda and were 
now going home through the darkening streets. 

" Yes, it was he," replied Undine, " and he was 
going to say all sorts of nonsensical things to me ; 
but in the midst, quite contrary to his intention, 
he delighted me with a most w r elcome piece of 
news. If you wish to hear it at once, my dear 



8o 



Undine. 



lord and husband, you have but to command, and 
I will tell it you without reserve ; but if you would 
confer a real pleasure on your Undine, you will 
wait till the day after to-morrow, and you will then 
have your share too in the surprise." 

The knight gladly complied with his wife's de- 
sire, which had been urged so sweetly; and, as 
she fell asleep, she murmured smilingly to herself : 
" Dear, dear Bertalda ! How she will rejoice and 
be astonished at what her master of the fountain 
told me ! " 



CHAPTER XL 



THE ANNIVERSARY OF BERTALDA's NAME-DAY. 

^HE company were sitting at dinner ; Bertalda, 



A looking like some goddess of spring with her 
flowers and jewels, the presents of her foster- 
parents and friends, was placed between Undine 
and Huldbrand. When the rich repast was ended, 
and the last course had appeared, the doors were 
left open, according to a good old German custom, 
that the common people might look on, and take 
part in the festivity of the nobles. Servants were 
carrying round cake and wine among the specta- 
tors. Huldbrand and Bertalda were waiting with 
secret impatience for the promised explanation, 
and sat with their eyes fixed steadily on Undine. 
But the beautiful wife still continued silent, and 
only kept smiling to herself with secret and hearty 
satisfaction. All who knew of the promise she 

81 




82 



Undine. 



had given, could see that she was every moment 
on the point of betraying her happy secret, and 
that it was with a sort of longing renunciation 
that she withheld it, just as children sometimes 
delay the enjoyment of their choicest morsels. 
Bertalda and Huldbrand shared this delightful 
feeling, and expected with fearful hope the tidings 
which were to fall from the lips of Undine. 

Several of the company pressed Undine to sing. 
The request seemed opportune, and ordering her 
lute to be brought, she sang the following words : — 

Bright opening day, 

Wild flowers so 'gay, 

Tall grasses their thirst that slake, 

On the banks of the billowy lake ! 

What glimmers there so shining 
The reedy growth entwining? 
Is it a blossom white as snow 
Fallen from heav'n here below? 

It is an infant, frail and dear ! 
With flowerets playing in its dreams, 
And grasping morning's golden beams ; 
Oh ! whence, sweet stranger, art thou here? 

From some far-off and unknown strand 
The lake has borne thee to this land. 

Nay, grasp not, tender little one, 
With thy tiny hand outspread ; 
No hand will meet thy touch with love, 
Mute is that flowery bed. 



Bertalda's Name-Day. 



83 



The flowers can deck themselves so fair 
And breathe forth fragrance blest, 
Yet none can press thee to itself 
Like that far-off mother's breast. 

So early at the gate of life, 
With smiles of heav'n on thy brow, 
Thou hast the best of treasures lost, 
Poor wand'ring child, nor know'st it now. 

A noble duke comes riding by, 

And near thee checks his courser's speed, 

And, full of ardent chivalry, 

He bears thee home upon his steed. 

Much, endless much, has been thy gain ! 
Thou bloom'st the fairest in the land ! 
Yet, ah ! the priceless joy of all 
Thou 'st left upon an unknown strand. 

Undine dropped her lute with a melancholy 
smile, and the eyes of Bertalda's foster-parents 
were filled with tears. " Yes, so it was on the 
morning that I found you, my poor sweet orphan," 
said the duke, deeply agitated ; " the beautiful 
singer is certainly right ; we have not been able 
to give you that ' priceless joy of all.' " 

" But we must also hear how it fared with the 
poor parents," said Undine, as she resumed her 
lute and sang : — 

Thro' every chamber roams the mother, 
Moves and searches everywhere, 
Seeks, she scarce knows what, with sadness, 
And finds an empty house is there. 



8 4 



Undine. 



An empty house ! Oh, word of sorrow, 
To her who once had been so blest, 
Who led her child about by day, 
And cradled it at night to rest. 

The beech is growing green again, 
The sunshine gilds its wonted spot, 
But, mother, cease thy searching vain ! 
Thy little loved one cometh not. 

And when the breath of eve blows cool, 
And father in his home appears, 
The smile he almost tries to wear 
Is quenched at once by gushing tears. 

Full well he knows that in his home 
He naught can find but wild despair ; 
He hears the mother's grieved lament, 
And no bright infant greets him there. 

" Oh ! for God's sake, Undine, where are my 
parents ? " cried the weeping Bertalda ; " you 
surely know ; you have discovered them, you 
wonderful being, for otherwise you would not 
have thus torn my heart. Are they perhaps 
already here ? Can it be ? " Her eye passed 
quickly over the brilliant company, and lingered 
on a lady of high rank who was sitting next her 
foster-father. 

Undine, however, turned toward the door, while 
her eyes overflowed with the sweetest emotion. 
" Where are the poor waiting parents ? " she in- 
quired ; and the old fisherman and his wife ad- 



Undine and Bertalda. 



86 



Undine. 



vanced hesitatingly from the crowd of spectators. 
Their glance rested inquiringly now on Undine, 
now on the beautiful girl who was said to be their 
daughter. " It is she," said the delighted bene- 
factress, in a faltering tone ; and the two old peo- 
ple hung round the neck of their recovered child, 
weeping and praising God. 

But, amazed and indignant, Bertalda tore her- 
self from their embrace. Such a recognition was 
too much for this proud mind, at a moment when 
she had surely imagined that her former splendor 
would even be increased, and when hope was de- 
luding her with a vision of almost royal honors. 
It seemed to her as if her rival had devised all 
this on purpose signally to humble her before 
Huldbrand and the whole world. She reviled 
Undine, she reviled the old people; and bitter 
invectives such as " deceiver," and " bribed im- 
postors," fell from her lips. Then the old fisher- 
man's wife said in a low voice to herself : " Ah 
me, she is become a wicked girl ; and yet I feel 
in my heart that she is my child." 

The old fisherman, however, had folded his 
hands, and was praying silently that this might 
not be his daughter. Undine, pale as death, 
turned with agitation from the parents to Bertalda, 
and from Bertalda to the parents ; suddenly cast 
down from that heaven of happiness of which she 
had dreamed, and overwhelmed with a fear and 



Bertalda's Name-Day. 



87 



a terror such as she had never known even in 
imagination. " Have you a soul ? Have you 
really a soul, Bertalda ? " she cried again and 
again to her angry friend, as if forcibly to rouse 
her to consciousness from some sudden delirium 
or maddening nightmare. But when Bertalda 
only became more and more enraged, when the 
repulsed parents began to weep aloud, and the 
company, in eager dispute, were taking different 
sides, she begged in such a dignified and serious 
manner to be allowed to speak in this her hus- 
band's hall, that all around were in a moment 
silenced. She then advanced to the upper end 
of the table, where Bertalda had seated herself, 
and with a modest and yet proud air, while every 
eye was fixed upon her, she spoke as follows : — 

" My friends, you look so angry and disturbed, 
and you have interrupted my happy feast by your 
disputings. Ah ! I knew nothing of your foolish 
habits and your heartless mode of thinking, and 
I shall never all my life long become accustomed 
to them. It is not my fault that this affair has 
resulted in evil ; believe me, the fault is with your- 
selves alone, little as it may appear to you to be 
so. I have therefore but little to say to you ; but 
one thing I must say : I have spoken nothing but 
truth. I neither can nor will give you proofs be- 
yond my own assertion, but I will swear to the 
truth of this. I received this information from 



88 



Undine. 



the very person who allured Bertalda into the 
water, away from her parents, and who afterward 
placed her on the green meadow in the duke's 
path." 

" She is an enchantress ! " cried Bertalda, " a 
witch who has intercourse with evil spirits. She 
acknowledges it herself." 

" I do not," said Undine, with a whole heaven 
of innocence and confidence beaming in her eyes. 
" I am no witch ; only look at me ! " 

" She is false and boastful," interrupted Bertalda, 
" and she cannot prove that I am the child of 
these low people. My noble parents, I beg you 
to take me from this company, and out of this 
city, where they are only bent on insulting me." 

But the aged and honorable duke remained un- 
moved, and his wife said : " We must thoroughly 
examine how we are to act. God forbid that we 
should move a step from this hall until we have 
done so." 

Then the old wife of the fisherman drew near, 
and making a low reverence to the duchess, she 
said : " Noble, God-fearing lady, you have opened 
my heart. I must tell you, if this evil-disposed 
young lady is my daughter, she has a mark, like 
a violet, between her shoulders, and another like 
it on the instep of her left foot. If she would 
only go out of the hall with me ! " 

" I shall not uncover myself before the peasant 



Bertalda's Name-Day. 



8 9 



woman ! " exclaimed Bertalda, proudly turning her 
back on her. 

" But before me you will," rejoined the duchess, 
very gravely. " Follow me into that room, girl, 
and the good old woman shall come with us." 
The three disappeared, and the rest of the com- 
pany remained where they were, in silent expecta- 
tion. After a short time they returned ; Bertalda 
was pale as death. " Right is right," said the 
duchess ; " I must therefore declare that our host- 
ess has spoken perfect truth. Bertalda is the 
fisherman's daughter, and that is as much as it 
is necessary to inform you here." 

The princely pair left with their adopted daugh- 
ter ; and at a sign from the duke, the fisherman 
and his wife followed them. The other guests 
retired in silence, or with secret murmurs, and 
Undine sank weeping into Huldbrand's arms. 



CHAPTER XII. 



HOW THEY DEPARTED FROM THE IMPERIAL CITY. 

THE lord of Ringstetten would have certainly 
preferred the events of this day to have been 
different ; but even as they were, he could scarcely 
regret them wholly, as they had exhibited his 
charming wife under such a good and sweet and 
kindly aspect. " If I have given her a soul,'' he 
could not help saying to himself, " I have indeed 
given her a better one than my own." And his 
only thought now was to speak soothingly to the 
weeping Undine, and on the following morning 
to quit with her a place which, after this incident, 
must have become distasteful to her. It is true 
that she was not estimated differently to what she 
had been. 

As something mysterious had long been ex- 
pected of her, the strange discovery of Bertalda's 
origin had caused no great surprise; and every 

90 



Leaving the Imperial City. 



9 1 



one who had heard the story and had seen Ber- 
talda's violent behavior was disgusted with her 
alone. Of this, however, the knight and his lady 
knew nothing as yet ; and, besides, the condemna- 
tion or approval of the public was equally painful 
to Undine; and thus there was no better course 
to pursue than to leave the walls of the old city 
behind them with all the speed possible. 

With the earliest beams of morning, a pretty 
carriage drove up to the entrance gate for Un- 
dine ; the horses which Huldbrand and his squires 
were to ride stood near, pawing the ground with 
impatient eagerness. 

The knight was leading his beautiful wife from 
the door, when a fisher-girl crossed their way. 
" We do not need your fish," said Huldbrand to 
her; "we are now starting on our journey." 
Upon this the fisher-girl began to weep bitterly, 
and the young couple perceived for the first time 
that it was Bertalda. 

They immediately returned with her to their 
apartment, and learned from her that the duke 
and duchess were so displeased at her violent and 
unfeeling conduct on the preceding day that they 
had entirely withdrawn their protection from her, 
though not without giving her a rich portion. 

The fisherman, too, had been handsomely re- 
warded, and had the evening before set out with 
his wife to return to their secluded home. 



9 2 



Undine. 



" I would have gone with them," she continued, 
" but the old fisherman who is said to be my 
father — " 

" And he is so indeed, Bertalda," interrupted 
Undine. "Look here; the stranger, whom you 
took for the master of the fountain, told me the 
whole story in detail. He wished to dissuade me 
from taking you with me to Castle Ringstetten ; 
and this led him to disclose the secret." 

" Well, then," said Bertalda, " if it must be so, 
my father said : ' I will not take you with me 
until you are changed. Venture to come to us 
alone through the haunted forest ; that shall be 
the proof whether you have any regard for us. 
But do not come to me as a lady ; come only as a 
fisher-girl.' So I will do just as he has told me, 
for I am forsaken by the whole world, and I will 
live and die in solitude as a poor fisher-girl with 
my poor parents. I have a terrible dread, though, 
of the forest. Horrible spectres are said to dwell 
in it, and I am so fearful. But how can I help it ? 
I only came here to implore pardon of the noble 
lady of Ringstetten for my unbecoming behavior 
yesterday. I feel sure, sweet lady, you meant to 
do me a kindness ; but you knew not how you 
would wound me, and in my agony and surprise 
many a rash and frantic expression passed my 
lips. Oh, forgive, forgive ! I am already so un- 
happy. Only think yourself what I was yesterday 



Leaving the Imperial City. 



93 



morning, yesterday at the beginning of your ban- 
quet, and what I am now ! " 

Her voice became stifled with a passionate 
flood of tears; and Undine, also weeping bitterly, 
fell on her neck. It was some time before the 
deeply agitated Undine could utter a word; at 
length she said : — 

" You can go with us to Ringstetten ; every- 
thing shall remain as it was arranged before ; only 
do not speak to me again as ' noble lady.' You 
see, we were exchanged for each other as children, 
our faces even then sprang, as it were, from the 
same stem ; and we will now so strengthen this 
kindred destiny that no human power shall be 
able to separate it. Only first of all come with us 
to Ringstetten. We will discuss there how we 
shall share all things as sisters." 

Bertalda looked timidly toward Huldbrand. 
He pitied the beautiful girl in her distress, and 
offering her his hand, he begged her tenderly to 
intrust herself with him and his wife. " We will 
send a message to your parents," he continued, 
" to tell them why you are not come ; " and he 
would have added more with regard to the worthy 
fisherman and his wife, but he saw that Bertalda 
shrunk with pain from the mention of their name, 
and he therefore refrained from saying more. 

He then assisted her first into the carriage ; 
Undine followed her; and he mounted his horse 



94 



Undine. 



and trotted merrily by the side of them, urging 
the driver at the same time to hasten his speed, 
so that very soon they were beyond the confines 
of the imperial city and all its sad remembrances ; 
and now the ladies began to enjoy the beautiful 
country through which their road lay. 

After a journey of some days, they arrived one 
exquisite evening at Castle Ringstetten. The 
young knight had much to hear from his over- 
seers and vassals, so that Undine and Bertalda 
were left alone. 

They both repaired to the ramparts of the for- 
tress, and were delighted with the beautiful land- 
scape which spread far and wide through fertile 
Swabia. 

Presently a tall man approached them, greeting 
them respectfully ; and Bertalda fancied she saw 
a resemblance to the master of the fountain in the 
imperial city. Still more unmistakable grew the 
likeness, when Undine angrily and almost threat- 
eningly waved him off ; and he retreated with 
hasty steps and shaking head, as he had done 
before, and disappeared into a neighboring copse. 

Undine, however, said : " Don't be afraid, dear 
Bertalda, this time the hateful master of the foun- 
tain shall do you no harm." And then she told 
her the whole story in detail, and who she was 
herself, and how Bertalda had been taken away 
from the fisherman and his wife, and Undine had 



Leaving the Imperial City. 95 

gone to them. The girl was at first terrified with 
this relation, she imagined her friend must be 
seized with sudden madness ; but she became more 
convinced that all was true, for Undine's story was 
so connected, and fitted so well with former occur- 
rences, and still more she had that inward feeling 
with which truth never fails to make itself known 
to us. It seemed strange to her that she was 
now herself living, as it were, in the midst of one 
of those fairy tales to which she had formerly only 
listened. 

She gazed upon Undine with reverence ; but 
she could not resist a sense of dread that seemed 
to come between her and her friend, and at their 
evening repast she could not but wonder how the 
knight could behave so lovingly and kindly toward 
a being who appeared to her, since the discovery 
she had just made, more of a phantom than a 
human being. 



CHAPTER XIII. 



HOW THEY LIVED AT CASTLE RINGSTETTEN. 

HE writer of this story, both because it moves 



1 his own heart, and because he wishes it to 
move that of others, begs you, dear reader, to 
pardon him if he now briefly passes over a con- 
siderable space of time, only cursorily mentioning 
the events that marked it. He knows well that 
he might portray skilfully, step by step, how 
Huldbrand's heart began to turn from Undine 
to Bertalda ; how Bertalda more and more re- 
sponded with ardent affection to the young 
knight, how they both looked upon the poor 
wife as a mysterious being rather to be feared 
than pitied ; how Undine wept, and how her tears 
stung the knight's heart with remorse, without 
awakening his former love, so that though he at 
times was kind and endearing to her, a cold shud- 

9 6 




At Castle Ringstetten. 



97 



der would soon draw him from her, and he would 
turn to his fellow-mortal, Bertalda. 

All this the writer knows might have been fully 
detailed, and perhaps it ought to have been ; but 
such a task would have been too painful, for simi- 
lar things have been known to him by sad experi- 
ence, and he shrinks from their shadow even in 
remembrance. You know probably a like feeling, 
dear reader, for such is the lot of mortal man. 
Happy are you if you have received rather than 
inflicted the pain ; for in such things it is more 
blessed to receive than to give. If it be so, such 
recollections will only bring a feeling of sorrow to 
your mind, and perhaps a tear will trickle down 
your cheek over the faded flowers that once 
caused you such delight. But let that be enough. 
We will not pierce our hearts with a thousand 
separate things, but only briefly state, as I have 
just said, how matters were. 

Poor Undine was very sad, and the other two 
were not to be called happy. Bertalda especially 
thought that she could trace the effect of jealousy 
on the part of the injured wife whenever her 
wishes were in any way thwarted by her. She 
had therefore habituated herself to an imperious 
demeanor, to which Undine yielded in sorrowful 
submission ; and the now blinded Huldbrand 
usually encouraged this arrogant behavior in the 
strongest manner. But the circumstance that 



9 8 



Undine. 



most of all disturbed the inmates of the castle, 
was a variety of wonderful apparitions which met 
Huldbrand and Bertalda in the vaulted galleries 
of the castle, and which had never been heard of 
before as haunting the locality. 

The tall white man, in whom Huldbrand recog- 
nized only too plainly uncle Kuhleborn, and Ber- 
talda the spectral master of the fountain, often 
passed before them with a threatening aspect, and 
especially before Bertalda ; so much so, that she 
had already several times been made ill with ter- 
ror, and had frequently thought of quitting the 
castle. But still she stayed there, partly because 
Huldbrand was so dear to her, and she relied on 
her innocence, no words of love having ever 
passed between them, and partly also because she 
knew not whither to direct her steps. The old 
fisherman, on receiving the message from the lord 
of Ringstetten that Bertalda was his guest, had 
written a few lines in an almost illegible hand, 
but as good as his advanced age and long disuse 
would admit of. 

" I have now become," he wrote, " a poor old 
widow r er, for my dear and faithful wife is dead. 
However lonely I now sit in my cottage, Bertalda 
is better with you than with me. Only let her do 
nothing to harm my beloved Undine ! She will 
have my curse if it be so." The last words of 
this letter Bertalda flung to the winds ; but she 



At Castle Ringstetten. 



99 



carefully retained the part respecting her absence 
from her father, — just as we are all wont to do 
in similar circumstances. 

One day, when Huldbrand had just ridden out, 
Undine summoned together the domestics of the 
family, ordered them to bring a large stone, and 
carefully to cover with it the magnificent fountain 
which stood in the middle of the castle-yard. The 
servants objected that it would oblige them to 
bring water from the valley below. Undine 
smiled sadly. " I am sorry, my people," she re- 
plied, " to increase your work. I would rather 
myself fetch up the pitchers, but this fountain 
must be closed. Believe me that it cannot be 
otherwise, and that it is only by so doing that we 
can avoid a greater evil." 

The whole household were glad to be able 
to please their gentle mistress ; they made no 
further inquiry, but seized the enormous stone. 
They were just raising it in their hands, and were 
already poising it over the fountain, when Ber- 
talda came running up, and called out to them to 
stop, as it was from this fountain that the water 
was brought which was so good for her complex- 
ion, and she would never consent to its being 
closed. 

Undine, however, although gentle as usual, was 
more than usually firm. She told Bertalda that 
it was her due, as mistress of the house, to arrange 



Lof C. 



IOO 



Undine. 



her household as she thought best, and that, in 
this, she was accountable to no one but her lord 
and husband. " See, oh, pray see ! " exclaimed 
Bertalda, in an angry, yet uneasy tone, " how the 
poor beautiful water is curling and writhing at 
being shut out from the bright sunshine and from 
the cheerful sight of the human face, for whose 
mirror it was created ! " 

The water in the fountain was indeed wonder- 
fully agitated and hissing ; it seemed as if some- 
thing within were struggling to free itself, but 
Undine only the more earnestly urged the fulfil- 
ment of her orders. 

The earnestness was scarcely needed. The 
servants of the castle were as happy in obeying 
their gentle mistress as in opposing Bertalda's 
haughty defiance ; and in spite of all the rude 
scolding and threatening of the latter, the stone 
was soon firmly lying over the opening of the 
fountain. Undine leaned thoughtfully over it, 
and wrote with her beautiful fingers on its sur- 
face. She must, however, have had something 
very sharp and cutting in her hand, for when she 
turned away, and the servants drew near to exam- 
ine the stone, they perceived various strange char- 
acters upon it, which none of them had seen there 
before. 

Bertalda received the knight, on his return 
home in the evening, with tears and complaints 



At Castle Ringstetten. 



101 



of Undine's conduct. He cast a serious look at 
his poor wife, and she looked down as if dis- 
tressed. Yet she said, with great composure : 
" My lord and husband does not reprove even a 
bondslave without a hearing ; how much less, then, 
his wedded wife ? " 

" Speak," said the knight, with a gloomy coun- 
tenance ; " what induced you to act so strangely ? " 

" I should like to tell you when we are quite 
alone," sighed Undine. 

" You can tell me just as well in Bertalda's 
presence," was the rejoinder. 

"Yes, if you command me," said Undine; "but 
command it not ! Oh, pray, pray, command it not ! " 

She looked so humble, so sweet and obedient, 
that the knight's heart felt a passing gleam from 
better times. He kindly placed her arm within 
his own, and led her to his apartment, when she 
began to speak as follows : — 

" You already know, my beloved lord, something 
of my evil uncle, Kuhleborn, and you have fre- 
quently been displeased at meeting him in the 
galleries of this castle. He has several times 
frightened Bertalda into illness. This is because 
he is devoid of soul, — a mere elemental mirror 
of the outward world, without the power of reflect- 
ing the world within. He sees, too, sometimes, 
that you are dissatisfied with me, that I, in my 
childishness, am weeping at this, and that Bertalda 



102 



Undine. 



perhaps is at the very same moment laughing. 
Hence, he imagines various discrepancies in our 
home life, and in many ways mixes unbidden with 
our circle. What is the good of reproving him ? 
What is the use of sending him angrily away ? 
He does not believe a word I say. His poor na- 
ture has no idea that the joys and sorrows of love 
have so sweet a resemblance and are so closely 
linked that no power can separate them. Amid 
tears a smile shines forth, and a smile allures tears 
from their secret chambers." 

She looked up at Huldbrand, smiling and weep- 
ing, and he again experienced within his heart all 
the charm of his old love. She felt this ; and, 
pressing him more tenderly to her, she continued, 
amid tears of joy : — 

" As the disturber of our peace was not to be 
dismissed with words, I have been obliged to shut 
the door upon him, and the only door by which 
he obtains access to us is that fountain. He is 
cut off by the adjacent valleys from the other 
water-spirits in the neighborhood, and his king- 
dom only commences further off on the Danube, 
into which some of his good friends direct their 
course. For this reason I had the stone placed 
over the opening of the fountain ; and I inscribed 
characters upon it which cripple all my uncle's 
power, so that he can now neither intrude upon 
you nor upon me nor upon Bertalda. 



At Castle Ringstetten. 103 

" Human beings, it is true, can raise the stone 
again with ordinary effort, in spite of the charac- 
ters inscribed on it. The inscription does not 
hinder them. If you wish, therefore, follow Ber- 
talda's desire ; but, truly, she knows not what she 
asks. The rude Klihleborn has set his mark espe- 
cially upon her ; and if much came to pass which 
he has predicted to me, and which might, indeed, 
happen without your meaning any evil, ah, dear 
one, even you would then be exposed to danger ! " 

Huldbrand felt deeply the generosity of his 
sweet wife, in her eagerness to shut up her formid- 
able protector, while she had even been chided for 
it by Bertalda. He pressed her in his arms with 
the utmost affection, and said, with emotion : 
" The stone shall remain, and all shall remain, 
now and ever, as you wish to have it, my sweet 
Undine." 

She caressed him with humble delight, as she 
heard the expressions of love so long withheld ; 
and then at length she said : " My dearest hus- 
band, you are so gentle and kind to-day, may I 
venture to ask a favor of you ? See, now, it is just 
the same with you as it is with summer. In the 
height of its glory, summer puts on the flaming 
and thundering crown of mighty storms, and as- 
sumes the air of a king over the earth. You, too, 
sometimes, let your fury rise, and your eyes flash 
and your voice is angry ; and this becomes you 



Undine. 



well, though I, in my folly, may sometimes weep 
at it. But never, I pray you, behave thus toward 
me on the water, or even when we are near it. 
You see, my relatives would then acquire a right 
over me. They would unrelentingly tear me from 
you in their rage ; because they would imagine 
that one of their race was injured, and I should be 
compelled all my life to dwell below in the crystal 
palaces, and should never dare to ascend to you 
again ; or they would send me up to you, — and 
that would be infinitely worse. No, no, my be- 
loved husband, do not let it come to that, if your 
poor Undine is dear to you." 

He promised solemnly to do as she desired ; 
and they both returned from the apartment, full 
of happiness and affection. At that moment Ber- 
talda appeared with some workmen, to whom she 
had already given orders, and said in a sullen tone, 
which she had assumed of late : " I suppose the 
secret conference is at an end, and now the stone 
may be removed. Go out, workmen, and attend 
to it." 

But the knight, angry at her impertinence, de- 
sired, in short and very decisive words, that the 
stone should be left; he reproved Bertalda, too, 
for her violence toward his wife. Whereupon, 
the workmen withdrew, smiling with secret satis- 
faction ; while Bertalda, pale with rage, hurried 
away to her room. 



At Castle Ringstetten. 



105 



The hour for the evening repast arrived, and 
Bertalda was waited for in vain. They sent after 
her, but the domestic found her apartments 
empty, and only brought back with him a sealed 
letter addressed to the knight. He opened it 
with alarm, and read : " I feel with shame that I 
am only a poor fisher-girl. I will expiate my 
fault in having forgotten this for a moment by 
going to the miserable cottage of my parents. 
Farewell to you and your beautiful wife." 

Undine was heartily distressed. She earnestly 
entreated Huldbrand to hasten after their friend 
and bring her back again. Alas ! she had no 
need to urge him. His affection for Bertalda 
burst forth" again with vehemence. He hurried 
round the castle, inquiring if any one had seen 
which way the fugitive had gone. He could 
learn nothing of her, and he was already on his 
horse in the castle-yard, resolved at a venture to 
take the road by which he had brought Bertalda 
hither. Just then a page appeared, who assured 
him that he had met the lady on the path to the 
Black Valley. Like an arrow the knight sprang 
through the gateway in the direction indicated, 
without hearing Undine's voice of agony as she 
called to him from the window : — 

" To the Black Valley ! Oh, not there ! Huld- 
brand, don't go there ! or, for Heaven's sake, take 
me with you ! " But when she perceived that all 



io6 



Undine. 



her calling was in vain, she ordered her white 
palfrey to be immediately saddled, and rode after 
the knight, without allowing any servant to accom- 
pany her. 




CHAPTER XIV. 



HOW BERTALDA RETURNED HOME WITH THE KNIGHT. 

THE Black Valley lies deep within the moun- 
tains. What it is now called we do not 
know. At that time the people of the country 
gave it this appellation on account of the deep 
obscurity in which the low land lay, owing to 
the shadows of the lofty trees, and especially firs, 
that grew there. Even the brook which bubbled 
between the rocks wore the same dark hue, and 
dashed along with none of that gladness with 
which streams are wont to flow that have the 
blue sky immediately above them. Now, in the 
growing twilight of evening, it looked wild and 
gloomy between the heights. 

The knight trotted anxiously along the edge 
of the brook, fearful at one moment that by delay 
he might allow the fugitive to advance too far, 

107 



io8 



Undine. 



and at the next that by too great rapidity he 
might overlook her in case she were concealing 
herself from him. Meanwhile, he had already 
penetrated tolerably far into the valley, and 
might soon hope to overtake the maiden if he 
were on the right track. The fear that this 
might not be the case made his heart beat with 
anxiety. Where would the tender Bertalda tarry 
through the stormy night, which was so fearful 
in the valley, should he fail to find her? At 
length he saw something white gleaming through 
the branches on the slope of the mountain. He 
thought he recognized Bertalda's dress, and he 
turned his course in that direction. 

But his horse refused to go forward, it reared 
impatiently ; and its master, unwilling to lose a 
moment, and seeing, moreover, that the copse 
was impassable on horseback, dismounted, and, 
fastening his snorting steed to an elm-tree, he 
worked his way cautiously through the bushes. 
The branches sprinkled his forehead and cheeks 
with the cold drops of the evening dew; a dis- 
tant roll of thunder was heard murmuring from 
the other side of the mountains ; everything 
looked so strange that he began to feel a dread 
of the white figure, which now lay only a short 
distance from him on the ground. Still he could 
plainly see that it was a female, either asleep or 
in a swoon, and that she was attired in long white 



How Bertalda went Home. 109 



garments, such as Bertalda had worn on that day c 
He stepped close up to her, made a rustling with 
the branches, and let his sword clatter ; but she 
moved not. " Bertalda ! " he exclaimed, at first 
in a low voice, and then louder and louder. 
Still she heard not. At last, when he uttered 
the dear name with a more powerful effort, a 
hollow echo from the mountain-caverns of the 
valley indistinctly reverberated " Bertalda ! " But 
still the sleeper woke not. He bent down over 
her ; the gloom of the valley and the obscurity 
of approaching night would not allow him to 
distinguish her features. 

Just as he was stooping closer over her with a 
feeling of painful doubt, a flash of lightning shot 
across the valley, and he saw before him a fright- 
ful distorted countenance, and a hollow voice 
exclaimed : " Give me a kiss, you enamoured 
swain ! " 

Huldbrand sprang up with a cry of horror, and 
the hideous figure rose with him. " Go home ! " 
it murmured ; " wizards are on the watch. Go 
home, or I will have you ! " and it stretched out 
its long white arms toward him. 

" Malicious Kuhleborn ! " cried the knight, re- 
covering himself. " What do you concern me, 
you goblin ? There, take your kiss ! " And he 
furiously hurled his sword at the figure. But it 
vanished like vapor, and a gush of water which 



I IO 



Undine. 



wetted him through left the knight no doubt as 
to the foe with whom he had been engaged. 

" He wishes to frighten me back from Ber- 
talda," said he aloud to himself ; " he thinks to 
terrify me with his foolish tricks, and to make me 
give up the poor distressed girl to him, so that he 
can wreak his vengeance on her. But he shall not 
do that, weak spirit of the elements as he is. No 
powerless phantom can understand what a human 
heart can do when its best energies are aroused." 

He felt the truth of his words, and that the very 
expression of them had inspired his heart with 
fresh courage. It seemed, too, as if fortune were 
on his side ; for he had not reached his fastened 
horse, when he distinctly heard Bertalda's plain- 
tive voice not far distant, and could catch her 
weeping accents through the ever-increasing tu- 
mult of the thunder and tempest. He hurried 
swiftly in the direction of the sound, and found 
the trembling girl just attempting to climb the 
steep, in order to escape in any way from the 
dreadful gloom of the valley. 

He stepped, however, lovingly in her path; and 
bold and proud as her resolve had before been, 
she now felt only too keenly the delight that the 
friend whom she so passionately loved should 
rescue her from this frightful solitude, and that 
the joyous life in the castle should be again open 
to her. She followed almost unresisting, but so 



How Bertalda went Home. 1 1 1 



exhausted with fatigue that the knight was glad 
to have brought her to his horse, which he now 
hastily unfastened, in order to lift the fair fugitive 
upon it ; and then, cautiously holding the reins, 
he hoped to proceed through the uncertain shades 
of the valley. 

But the horse had become quite unmanageable 
from the wild apparition of Kiihleborn. Even 
the knight would have had difficulty in mounting 
the rearing and snorting animal ; but to place the 
trembling Bertalda on its back was perfectly im- 
possible. They determined, therefore, to return 
home on foot. Drawing the horse after him by 
the bridle, the knight supported the tottering girl 
with his other hand. Bertalda exerted all her 
strength to pass quickly through the fearful valley, 
but weariness weighed her down like lead, and 
every limb trembled, — partly from the terror she 
had endured when Kiihleborn had pursued her, 
and partly from her continued alarm at the howl- 
ing of the storm and the pealing of the thunder 
through the wooded mountain. 

At last she slid from the supporting arm of her 
j protector, and sinking down on the moss, she 
exclaimed : " Let me lie here, my noble lord ; I 
suffer the punishment due to my folly, and I must 
now perish here through weariness and dread." 

" No, sweet friend, I will never leave you ! " 
cried Huldbrand, vainly endeavoring to restrain 



112 



Undine. 



his furious steed ; for, worse than before, it now 
began to foam and rear with excitement, until at 
last the knight was glad to keep the animal at a 
sufficient distance from the exhausted maiden 
lest her fears should be increased. But scarcely 
had he withdrawn a few paces with the wild steed 
than she began to call after him in the most piti- 
ful manner, believing that he was really going to 
leave her in this horrible wilderness. 

He was utterly at a loss what course to take. 
Gladly would he have given the excited beast its 
liberty and have allowed it to rush away into the 
night and spend its fury, had he not feared that 
in this narrow defile it might come thundering 
with its iron-shod hoofs over the very spot where 
Bertalda lay. 

In the midst of this extreme perplexity and dis- 
tress, he heard with delight the sound of a vehicle 
driving slowly down the stony road behind them. 
He called out for help ; and a man's voice replied, 
bidding him have patience, but promising assist- 
ance ; and soon after, two gray horses appeared 
through the bushes, and beside them the driver 
in the white smock of a carter; a great white 
linen cloth was next visible, covering the goods 
apparently contained in the wagon. At a loud 
shout from their master, the obedient horses 
halted. The driver then came toward the knight, 
and helped him in restraining his foaming animal. 



How Bertalda went Home. 113 



" I see well," said he, " what ails the beast. 
When I first travelled this way, my horses were 
no better. The fact is, there is an evil water- 
spirit haunting the place, and he takes delight in 
this sort of mischief. But I have learned a charm ; 
if you will let me whisper it in your horse's ear, 
he will stand at once, just as quiet as my gray 
beasts are doing there." 

" Try your luck, then, only help us quickly ! " 
exclaimed the impatient knight. The wagoner 
then drew down the head of the rearing charger 
close to his own, and whispered something in his 
ear. In a moment the animal stood still and 
quiet, and his quick panting and reeking condi- 
tion was all that remained of his previous unman- 
ageableness. 

Huldbrand had no time to inquire how all this 
had been effected. He agreed with the carter 
that he should take Bertalda on his wagon, where, 
as the man assured him, there was a number of 
soft cotton-bales, upon which she could be con- 
veyed to Castle Ringstetten, and the knight was 
to accompany them on horseback. But the horse 
appeared too much exhausted by its past fury to 
be able to carry its master so far, so the carter 
persuaded Huldbrand to get into the wagon with 
Bertalda. The horse could be fastened on be- 
hind. " We are going down hill," said he, " and 
that will make it light for my gray beasts." 



il 4 



Undine. 



The knight accepted the offer, and entered the 
wagon with Bertalda ; the horse followed patiently 
behind, and the wagoner, steady and attentive, 
walked by the side. 

In the stillness of the night, as its darkness 
deepened, and the subsiding tempest sounded 
more and more remote, encouraged by the sense 
of security and their fortunate escape, a confiden- 
tial conversation arose between Huldbrand and 
Bertalda. 

With flattering words he reproached her for her 
daring flight ; she excused herself with humility 
and emotion, and from every word she said a 
gleam shone forth which disclosed distinctly to 
the lover that the beloved was his. The knight 
felt the sense of her words far more than he re- 
garded their meaning, and it was the sense alone 
to which he replied. Presently the wagoner sud- 
denly shouted with a loud voice : — 

" Up, my grays, up with your feet; keep to- 
gether ! remember who you are ! " 

The knight leaned out of the wagon, and saw 
that the horses were stepping into the midst of a 
foaming stream, or were already almost swimming, 
while the wheels of the wagon were rushing 
round and gleaming like mill-wheels, and the 
wagoner had got up in front, in consequence of 
the increasing waters. 

" What sort of a road is this ? It goes into the 



How Bertalda went Home. 



"5 



middle of the stream," cried Huldbrand to his 
guide. 

" Not at all, sir," returned the other, laughing ; 
" it is just the reverse ; the stream goes into the 
very middle of our road. Look round and see 
how everything is covered by the water." 

The whole valley indeed was suddenly filled 
with the surging flood that visibly increased. " It 
is Kuhleborn, the evil water-spirit, who wishes to 
drown us ! " exclaimed the knight. " Have you 
no charm against him, my friend ? " 

" I know indeed of one," returned the wagoner; 
" but I cannot and may not use it until you know 
who I am." 

" Is this a time for riddles ? " cried the knight. 
" The flood is ever rising higher, and what does 
it matter to me to know who you are ? " 

" It does matter to you, though," said the wag- 
oner, "for I am Kuhleborn." 

So saying, he thrust his distorted face into the 
wagon with a grin : but the wagon was a wagon 
no longer; the horses were not horses, — all was 
transformed to foam, and vanished in the hissing 
waves, and even the wagoner himself, rising as 
a gigantic billow, drew down the vainly struggling 
horse beneath the waters, and then swelling higher 
and higher, swept over the heads of the floating 
pair, like some liquid tower, threatening to bury 
them irrecoverably. 



n6 



Undine. 



Just then the soft voice of Undine sounded 
through the uproar ; the moon emerged from the 
clouds, and by its light Undine was seen on the 
heights above the valley. She rebuked, she 
threatened the floods below ; the menacing, tower- 
like wave vanished, muttering and murmuring ; 
the waters flowed gently away in the moonlight; 
and like a white dove, Undine flew down from 
the height, seized the knight and Bertalda, and 
bore them with her to a fresh, green, turfy spot 
on the hill, where, with choice refreshing restora- 
tives, she dispelled their terrors and weariness ; 
then she assisted Bertalda to mount the white 
palfrey, on which she had herself ridden here, 
and thus all three returned to Castle Ringstetten. 




CHAPTER XV. 



THE JOURNEY TO VIENNA. 

AFTER this last adventure, they lived quietly 
and happily at the castle. The knight more 
and more perceived the heavenly goodness of his 
wife, which had been so nobly exhibited by her 
pursuit, and by her rescue of them in the Black 
Valley, where Kiihleborn's power again com- 
menced. Undine herself felt that peace and 
security which is never lacking to a mind so 
long as it is distinctly conscious of being on the 
right path, and besides, in the newly awakened 
love and esteem of her husband, many a gleam 
of hope and joy shone upon her. Bertalda, on 
the other hand, showed herself grateful, humble, 
and timid, without regarding her conduct as any- 
thing meritorious. 

Whenever Huldbrand or Undine were about 
to give her any explanation regarding the cover- 

117 



u8 



Undine. 



ing of the fountain, or the adventure in the Black 
Valley, she would earnestly entreat them to spare 
her the recital, as she felt too much shame at the 
recollection of the fountain, and too much fear 
at the remembrance of the Black Valley. She 
learned, therefore, nothing further of either; and 
for what end was such knowledge necessary? 
Peace and joy had visibly taken up their abode 
at Castle Ringstetten. They felt secure on this 
point, and imagined that life could now produce 
nothing but pleasant flowers and fruits. 

In this happy condition of things, winter had 
come and passed away, and spring, with its fresh 
green shoots and its blue sky, was gladdening the 
joyous inmates of the castle. Spring was in har- 
mony with them, and they with spring. What 
wonder then that its storks and swallows inspired 
them also with a desire to travel ? One day, 
when they were taking a pleasant walk to one of 
the sources of the Danube, Huldbrand spoke of 
the magnificence of the noble river, and how it 
widened as it flowed through countries fertilized 
by its waters ; how the charming city of Vienna 
shone forth on its banks, and how with every step 
of its course it increased in power and loveliness. 

" It must be glorious to go down the river as 
far as Vienna ! " exclaimed Bertalda ; but imme- 
diately relapsing into her present modesty and 
humility, she paused and blushed deeply. 



The Journey to Vienna. 



119 



This touched Undine deeply, and with the 
liveliest desire to give pleasure to her friend, she 
said: "What hinders us from starting on the little 

voyage ? " 

Bertalda exhibited the greatest delight, and 
both she and Undine began at once to picture the 
tour of the Danube in the brightest colors. Huld- 
brand also gladly agreed to the prospect ; only he 
once whispered anxiously in Undine's ear: — 

" But Klihleborn becomes possessed of his 
power again out there ! " 

" Let him come," she replied with a smile ; " I 
shall be there, and he ventures upon none of his 
mischief before me." The last impediment was 
thus removed ; they prepared for the journey, and 
soon after set out upon it with fresh spirits and 
the brightest hopes. 

But wonder not, O man, if events always turn 
out different to what we have intended. That 
malicious power, lurking for our destruction, 
gladly lulls its chosen victim to sleep with sweet 
songs and golden delusions ; while on the other 
hand, the rescuing messenger from heaven often 
knocks sharply and alarmingly at our door. 

During the first few days of their voyage down 
the Danube they were extremely happy. Every- 
thing grew more and more beautiful as they 
sailed further and further down the proudly flow- 
ing stream. But in a region otherwise so pleas- 



120 



Undine. 



ant, and in the enjoyment of which they had 
promised themselves the purest delight, the 
ungovernable Kuhleborn began, undisguisedly, 
to exhibit his power of interference. This was 
indeed manifested in mere teasing tricks; for 
Undine often rebuked the agitated waves, or the 
contrary winds, and then the violence of the 
enemy would be immediately humbled ; but again 
the attacks would be renewed, and again Undine's 
reproofs would become necessary, so that the 
pleasure of the little party was completely de- 
stroyed. 

The boatmen, too, were continually whispering 
to each other in dismay, and looking with dis- 
trust at the three strangers, whose servants even 
began more and more to forbode something 
uncomfortable, and to watch their superiors with 
suspicious glances. Huldbrand often said to 
himself : " This comes from like not being linked 
with like, — from a man uniting himself with a 
mermaid ! " Excusing himself, as we all love to 
do, he would often think, indeed, as he said this ; 
" I did not really know that she was a sea-maiden ; 
mine is the misfortune, that every step I take is 
disturbed and haunted by the wild caprices of 
her race, but mine is not the fault." By thoughts 
such as these he felt himself in some measure 
strengthened ; but on the other hand, he felt 
increasing ill-humor, and almost animosity, tow- 



The Journey to Vienna. 121 



ard Undine. He would look at her with an 
expression of anger, the meaning of which the 
poor wife understood well. 

Wearied with this exhibition of displeasure, 
and exhausted by the constant effort to frustrate 
Kuhleborn's artifices, she sank one evening into 
a deep slumber, rocked soothingly by the softly 
gliding bark. 

Scarcely, however, had she closed her eyes 
than every one in the vessel imagined he saw, in 
whatever direction he turned, a most horrible 
human head ; it rose out of the waves, not like 
that of a person swimming, but perfectly perpen- 
dicular, as if invisibly supported upright on the 
watery surface, and floating along in the same 
course with the bark. Each wanted to point 
out to the other the cause of his alarm, but each 
found the same expression of horror depicted on 
the face of his neighbor, only that his hands and 
eyes were directed to a different point, where the 
monster, half-laughing and half-threatening, rose 
before him. When, however, they all wished to 
make each other understand what each saw, and 
all were crying out : " Look there ! No, there ! " 
the horrible heads all at one and the same time 
appeared to their view, and the whole river around 
the vessel swarmed with the most hideous appa- 
ritions. The universal cry raised at the sight 
awoke Undine. 



122 



Undine. 



As she opened her eyes, the wild crowd of 
distorted visages disappeared. But Huldbrand 
was indignant at such unsightly jugglery. He 
would have burst forth in uncontrolled impreca- 
tions had not Undine said to him, with a humble 
manner and a softly imploring tone : " For God's 
sake, my husband, we are on the water ; do not 
be angry with me now." 

The knight was silent, and sat down ab- 
sorbed in revery. Undine whispered in his ear: 
" Would it not be better, my love, if we gave up 
this foolish journey, and returned to Castle Ring- 
stetten in peace ? " 

But Huldbrand murmured moodily: "So I 
must be a prisoner in my own castle, and only be 
able to breathe so long as the fountain is closed ! 
I would your mad kindred — " Undine lovingly 
pressed her fair hand upon his lips. He paused, 
pondering in silence over much that Undine had 
before said to him. 

Bertalda had meanwhile given herself up to a 
variety of strange thoughts. She knew a good 
deal of Undine's origin, and yet not the whole ; 
and the fearful Kuhleborn especially had re- 
mained to her a terrible but wholly unrevealed 
mystery. She had indeed never even heard his 
name. Musing on these strange things, she un- 
clasped, scarcely conscious of the act, a gold neck- 
lace which Huldbrand had lately purchased for 



The Journey to Vienna. 



123 



her of a travelling trader; half dreamingly she 
drew it along the surface of the water, enjoying 
the light glimmer it cast upon the evening-tinted 
stream. Suddenly a huge hand was stretched 
out of the Danube ; it seized the necklace, and 
vanished with it beneath the waters. Bertalda 
screamed aloud, and a scornful laugh resounded 
from the depths of the stream. The knight could 
now restrain his anger no longer. Starting up, 
he inveighed against the river ; he cursed all who 
ventured to interfere with his family and his life, 
and challenged them, be they spirits or sirens, to 
show themselves before his avenging sword. 

Bertalda wept meanwhile for her lost ornament, 
which was so precious to her ; and her tears added 
fuel to the flame of the knight's anger, while Un- 
dine held her hand over the side of the vessel, 
dipping it into the water, softly murmuring to 
herself, and only now and then interrupting her 
strange, mysterious whisper as she entreated her 
husband : " My dearly loved one, do not scold me 
here ; reprove others if you will, but not me here. 
You know why ! " And indeed he restrained the 
words of anger that were trembling on his tongue. 
Presently, in her wet hand which she had been 
holding under the waves, she brought up a beau- 
tiful coral necklace of so much brilliancy that the 
eyes of all were dazzled by it. 

" Take this," said she, holding it out kindly to ' 



124 



Undine. 



Bertalda ; " I have ordered this to be brought for 
you as a compensation, and don't be grieved any 
more, my poor child." 

But the knight sprang between them. He 
tore the beautiful ornament from Undine's hand, 
hurled it again into the river, exclaiming in 
passionate rage : " Have you then still a con- 
nection with them ? In the name of all the 
witches, remain among them with your presents, 
and leave us mortals in peace, you sorceress ! " 

Poor Undine gazed at him with fixed but tear- 
ful eyes, her hand still stretched out as when she 
had offered her beautiful present so lovingly to 
Bertalda. She then began to weep more and 
more violently, like a dear innocent child bitterly 
afflicted. At last, wearied out, she said : " Alas, 
sweet friend, alas ! farewell ! They shall do you 
no harm ; only remain true, so that I may be able 
to keep them from you. I must, alas ! go away ; 
I must go hence at this early stage of life. Oh, 
woe, woe ! what have you done ! Oh, woe, 
woe!" 

She vanished over the side of the vessel. 
Whether she plunged into the stream, or flowed 
away with it, they knew not ; her disappearance 
was like both and neither. Soon, however, she 
was completely lost sight of in the Danube ; only 
a few little waves kept whispering, as if sobbing, 
round the boat, and they almost seemed to be 



Separated at Last. 



126 Undine. 

saying: "Oh, woe, woe! oh, remain true! oh, 
woe ! " 

Huldbrand lay on the deck of the vessel, bathed 
in hot tears, and a deep swoon soon cast its veil 
of forgetfulness over the unhappy man. 



CHAPTER XVI. 



HOW IT FARED FURTHER WITH HULDBRAND. 

SHALL we say it is well or ill that our sorrow 
is of such short duration ? I mean that deep 
sorrow which affects the very well-spring of our 
life, which becomes so one with the lost objects 
of our love that they are no longer lost, and which 
enshrines their image as a sacred treasure, until 
that final goal is reached which they have reached 
before us. It is true that many men really main- 
tain these sacred memories, but their feeling is 
no longer that of the first deep grief. Other and 
new images have thronged between ; we learn at 
length the transitoriness of all earthly things, even 
of our grief, and, therefore, I must say, " Alas that 
our sorrow should be of such short duration ! " 

The lord of Ringstetten experienced this : 
whether for his good, we shall hear in the sequel 
to this history. At first he could do nothing but 

127 



128 



Undine. 



weep, and that as bitterly as the poor gentle 
Undine had wept when he had torn from her 
hand that brilliant ornament with which she had 
wished to set everything to rights. And then he 
would stretch out his hand, as she had done, and 
would weep again, as bitterly. He cherished the 
secret hope that he might at length dissolve in 
tears ; and has not a similar hope passed before 
the mind of many a one of us, with painful 
pleasure, in moments of great affliction ? 

Bertalda wept also, and they lived a long while 
quietly together at Castle Ringstetten, cherishing 
Undine's memory, and almost wholly forgetful of 
their former attachment to each other. And, 
therefore, the good Undine often visited Huld- 
brand in his dreams ; caressing him tenderly and 
kindly, and then going away, weeping silently, so 
that when he awoke he often scarcely knew why 
his cheeks were so wet ; whether they had been 
bathed with her tears, or merely with his own. 

These dream-visions became, however, less fre- 
quent as time passed on, and the grief of the 
knight was less acute ; still he would probably 
have cherished no other wish than thus to think 
calmly of Undine and to talk of her, had not the 
old fisherman appeared one day unexpectedly at 
the castle, and sternly insisted on Bertalda's 
returning with him as his child. The news of 
Undine's disappearance had reached him, and he 



How Huldbrand Fared. 129 



had determined on no longer allowing Bertalda 
to reside at the castle with the widowed knight. 

" For," said he, " whether my daughter love me 
or no, I do not care to know; but her honor is 
at stake, and where that is concerned, nothing 
else is to be thought of." 

This idea of the old fisherman's, and the soli- 
tude which threatened to overwhelm the knight 
in all the halls and galleries of the desolate castle 
after Bertalda's departure, brought out the feel- 
ings that had slumbered till now, and which had 
been wholly forgotten in his sorrow for Undine; 
namely, Huldbrand's affection for the beautiful 
Bertalda. The fisherman had many objections 
to raise against the proposed marriage. Undine 
had been very dear to the old fisherman, and he 
felt that no one really knew for certain whether 
the dear lost one were actually dead. And if her 
body were truly lying cold and stiff at the bottom 
of the Danube, or had floated away with the cur- 
rent into the ocean, even then Bertalda was in 
some measure to blame for her death, and it was 
unfitting for her to step into the place of the 
poor supplanted one. 

Yet the fisherman had a strong regard for the 
knight also ; and the entreaties of his daughter, 
who had become much more gentle and submis- 
sive, and her tears for Undine, turned the scale, 
and he must at length have given his consent, for 



Undine. 



he remained at the castle without objection, and 
a messenger was despatched to Father Heilmann, 
who had united Undine and Huldbrand in happy 
days gone by, to bring him to the castle for the 
second nuptials of the knight. > 

The holy man, however, had scarcely read the 
letter from the knight of Ringstetten than he set 
out on his journey to the castle, with far greater 
expedition than even the messenger had used in 
going to him. Whenever his breath failed in 
his rapid progress, or his aged limbs ached with 
weariness, he would say to himself : " Perhaps the 
evil may yet be prevented ; fail not, my tottering 
frame, till you have reached the goal ! " And 
with renewed power he would then press forward, 
and go on and on without rest or repose, until 
late one evening he entered the shady courtyard 
of Castle Ringstetten. 

The betrothed pair were sitting side by side 
under the trees, and the old fisherman was near 
them, absorbed in thought. The moment they 
recognized Father Heilmann, they sprang up, and 
pressed round him with warm welcome. But he, 
without making much reply, begged Huldbrand 
to go with him into the castle ; and when the 
latter looked astonished, and hesitated to obey 
the grave summons, the reverend father said to 
him : — 

" Why should I make any delay in wishing to 



How Huldbrand Fared. 131 



speak to you in private, Herr von Ringstetten? 
What I have to say concerns Bertalda and the 
fisherman as much as yourself ; and what a man 
has to hear, he may prefer to hear as soon as 
possible. Are you then so perfectly certain, 
Knight Huldbrand, that your first wife is really 
dead? It scarcely seems so to me. I will not 
indeed say anything of the mysterious condition 
in which she may be existing, and I know, too, 
nothing of it with certainty. But she was a pious 
and faithful wife, — that is beyond all doubt ; and 
for a fortnight past she has stood at my bedside 
at night in my dreams, wringing her tender hands 
in anguish and sighing out : ' Oh, prevent him, 
good father ! I am still living ! oh, save his life ! 
save his soul ! ' I did not understand what this 
nightly vision signified ; when presently your 
messenger came, and I hurried thither, not to 
unite, but to separate, what ought not to be joined 
together. Leave her, Huldbrand ! Leave him, 
Bertalda! He yet belongs to another; and do 
you not see grief for his lost wife still written 
on his pale cheek ? No bridegroom looks thus ; 
and a voice tells me that if you do not leave him, 
you will never be happy." 

The three listeners felt in their innermost heart 
that Father Heilmann spoke the truth, but they 
would not believe it. Even the old fisherman 
was now so infatuated that he thought it could 



132 



Undine. 



not be otherwise than they had settled it in their 
discussions during the last few days. They there- 
fore all opposed the warnings of the priest with a 
wild and gloomy rashness, until at length the 
holy father quitted the castle with a sad heart, 
refusing to accept, even for a single night, the 
shelter offered, or to enjoy the refreshments 
brought him. Huldbrand, however, persuaded 
himself that the priest was full of whims and 
fancies, and with dawn of day he sent for a father 
from the nearest monastery, who, without hesita- 
tion, promised to perform the ceremony in a few 
days. 



CHAPTER XVII. 



THE KNIGHT'S DREAM. 

IT was between night and dawn of day that the 
knight was lying on his couch, half-waking, 
half-sleeping. Whenever he was on the point of 
falling asleep, a terror seemed to come upon him 
and scare his rest away, for his slumbers were 
haunted with spectres. If he tried, however, to 
rouse himself in good earnest, he felt fanned, as 
by the wings of a swan, and he heard the soft 
murmuring of waters, until, soothed by the agree- 
able delusion, he sunk back again into a half-con- 
scious state. 

At length he must have fallen sound asleep, for 
it seemed to him as if he were lifted up upon the 
fluttering wings of the swan and borne by them 
far over land and sea, while they sang to him 
their sweetest music. " The music of the swan ! 
the music of the swan ! " he kept saying to him- 

133 



134 



Undine. 



self: "Does it not always portend death?" But 
it had yet another meaning. All at once he felt 
as if he were hovering over the Mediterranean 
Sea. A swan was singing musically in his ear 
that this was the Mediterranean Sea. And while 
he was looking down upon the waters below, they 
became clear as crystal, so that he could see 
through them to the bottom. He was delighted 
at this, for he could see Undine sitting beneath 
the crystal arch. It is true she was weeping bit- 
terly, and looking much sadder than in the happy 
days when they had lived together at the castle of 
Ringstetten, especially at their commencement ; 
and afterward also, shortly before they had begun 
their unhappy Danube excursion. The knight 
could not help thinking upon all this very fully 
and deeply, but it did not seem as if Undine per- 
ceived him. 

Meanwhile, Kiihleborn had approached her, 
and was on the point of reproving her for her 
weeping. But she drew herself up and looked at 
him with such a noble and commanding air that 
he almost shrunk back with fear. "Although 
I live here beneath the waters," said she, " I have 
yet brought down my soul with me; and there- 
fore I may well weep, although you cannot divine 
what such tears are. They too are blessed, for 
everything is blessed to him in whom a true soul 
dwells." 



The Knight's Dream. 



*35 



He shook his head incredulously, and said, after 
some reflection: "And yet, niece, you are subject 
to the laws of our element, and if he marries 
again and is unfaithful to you, you are in duty 
bound to take away his life." 

" He is a widower to this very hour," replied 
Undine, "and his sad heart still holds me dear." 

" He is, however, at the same time betrothed," 
laughed Kuhleborn, w r ith scorn : " and let only a 
few days pass, and the priest will have given the 
nuptial blessing, and then you will have to go 
upon earth to accomplish the death of him who 
has taken another to wife." 

" That I cannot do," laughed Undine, in re- 
turn ; " I have sealed up the fountain securely 
against myself and my race." 

" But suppose he should leave his castle," said 
Kuhleborn, "or should have the fountain opened 
again! — for he thinks little enough of these 
things." 

" It is just for that reason," said Undine, still 
smiling amid her tears, — " it is just for that reason 
that he is now hovering in spirit over the Medi- 
terranean Sea, and is dreaming of this conversa- 
tion of ours as a warning. I have intentionally 
arranged it so." 

Kuhleborn, furious with rage, looked up at the 
knight, threatened, stamped with his feet, and 
then swift as an arrow shot under the waves. It 



Undine. 



seemed as if he were swelling in his fury to the 
size of a whale. Again the swans began to sing, 
to flap their wings, and to fly. It seemed to the 
knight as if he were soaring away over moun- 
tains and streams, and that he at length reached 
the Castle Ringstetten, and awoke on his couch. 

He did, in reality, awake upon his couch, and 
his squire, coming in at that 4 moment, informed 
him that Father Heilmann was still lingering in 




the neighborhood ; that he had met him the 
night before in the forest, in a hut which he had 
formed for himself of the branches of trees, and 
covered with moss and brushwood. To the 
question what he was doing here, since he would 
not give the nuptial blessing, he had answered : 
"There are other blessings besides those at the 
nuptial altar ; and though I have not gone to the 
wedding, it may be that I shall be at another 
solemn ceremony. We must be ready for all 



The Knight's Dream. 



137 



things. Besides, marrying and mourning are not 
so unlike, and every one not wilfully blinded 
must see that well." 

The knight placed various strange construc- 
tions upon these words, and upon his dream ; but 
it is very difficult to break off a thing which a 
man has once regarded as certain, and so every- 
thing remained as it had been arranged. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 



HOW THE KNIGHT HULDBRAND IS MARRIED. 

IF I were to tell you how the marriage-feast 
passed at Castle Ringstetten, it would seem 
to you as if you saw a heap of bright and pleas- 
ant things, but a gloomy veil of mourning spread 
over them all, the dark hue of which would make 
the splendor of the whole look less like happiness 
than a mockery of the emptiness of all earthly 
joys. It was not that any spectral apparitions 
disturbed the festive company; for we know 
that the castle had been secured from the mis- 
chief of the threatening water-spirits. But the 
knight and the fisherman and all the guests felt 
as if the chief personage were still lacking at the 
feast, and that this chief personage could be none 
other than the loved and gentle Undine. 

Whenever a door opened, the eyes of all were 
involuntarily turned in that direction ; and if it 

138 



The Knight is Married. 



139 



were nothing but the butler with new dishes, or 
the cup-bearer with a flask of still richer wine, 
they would look down again sadly, and the flashes 
of wit and merriment which had passed to and 
fro would be extinguished by sad remembrances. 
The bride was the most thoughtless of all, and 
therefore the most happy; but even to her it 
sometimes seemed strange that she should be sit- 
ting at the head of the table, wearing a green 
wreath and gold-embroidered attire, while Undine 
was lying at the bottom of the Danube, a cold 
and stiff corpse, or floating away with the current 
into the mighty ocean. For ever since her father 
had spoken of something of the sort, his words 
were ever ringing in her ear, and this day espe- 
cially they were not inclined to give place to 
other thoughts. 

The company dispersed early in the evening, 
not broken up by the bridegroom himself, but 
sadly and gloomily by the joyless mood of the 
guests and their forebodings of evil. Bertalda 
retired with her maidens, and the knight with 
his attendants; but at this mournful festival there 
was no gay, laughing train of bridesmaids and 
bridesmen. 

Bertalda wished to arouse more cheerful 
thoughts ; she ordered a splendid ornament of 
jewels which Huldbrand had given her, to- 
gether with rich apparel and veils, to be spread 



140 



Undine. 



out before her, in order that from these latter 
she might select the brightest and most beauti- 
ful for her morning attire. Her attendants were 
delighted at the opportunity of expressing their 
good wishes to their young mistress, not failing 
at the same time to extol the beauty of the bride 
in the most lively terms. They were more and 
more absorbed in these considerations, till Ber- 
talda at length, looking in a mirror, said with a 
sigh : " Ah, but don't you see plainly how freckled 
I am growing here at the side of my neck ? " 

They looked at her throat, and found the 
freckles as their fair mistress had said ; but they 
called them beauty-spots, and mere tiny blem- 
ishes only, tending to enhance the whiteness of 
her delicate skin. Bertalda shook her head and 
asserted that a spot was always a defect. 

" And I could remove them," she sighed at 
last, " only the fountain is closed from which I 
used to have that precious and purifying water. 
Oh, if I had but a flask of it to-day ! " 

" Is that all ? " said an alert waiting-maid, laugh- 
ing, as she slipped from the apartment. 

" She will not be so mad," exclaimed Bertalda, 
in a pleased and surprised tone, — " she will not 
be so mad as to have the stone removed from 
the fountain this very evening ! " At the same 
moment they heard the men crossing the court- 
yard, and could see from the window how the 



The Knight is Married. 



141 



officious waiting-woman was leading them straight 
up to the fountain, and that they were carrying 
levers and other instruments on their shoulders. 
" It is certainly my will," said Bertalda, smiling, 
" if only it does not take too long." And, happy 
in the sense that a look from her now was able to 
effect what had formerly been so painfully refused 
her, she watched the progress of the work in the 
moonlit castle-court. 

The men raised the enormous stone with an 
effort ; now and then, indeed, one of their num- 
ber would sigh, as he remembered that they were 
destroying the work of their former beloved mis- 
tress. But the labor was far lighter than they 
had imagined. It seemed as if a power within 
the spring itself were aiding them in raising the 
stone. 

" It is just," said the workmen to each other in 
astonishment, " as if the water within had become 
a springing fountain." And the stone rose higher 
and higher, and almost without the assistance of 
the workmen, it rolled slowly down upon the pave- 
ment with a hollow sound. But from the opening 
of the fountain there rose solemnly a white column 
of water; at first they imagined it had really be- 
come a springing fountain, till they perceived that 
the rising form was a pale female figure veiled in 
white. She was weeping bitterly, raising her hands 
wailingly above her head and wringing them, as 



142 



Undine. 



she walked with a slow and serious step to the 
castle-building. The servants fled from the spring ; 
the bride, pale and stiff with horror, stood at the 
window with her attendants. When the figure 
had now come close beneath her room, it looked 
up to her moaning, and Bertalda thought she 
could recognize beneath the veil the pale features 
of Undine. But the sorrowing form passed on, 
sad, reluctant, and faltering, as if passing to 
execution. 

Bertalda screamed out that the knight was to 
be called ; but none of her maids ventured from 
the spot, and even the bride herself became mute, 
as if trembling at her own voice. 

While they were still standing fearfully at the 
window, motionless as statues, the strange wanderer 
had reached the castle, had passed up the well- 
known stairs, and through the well-known halls, 
ever in silent tears. Alas ! how differently had 
she once wandered through them ! 

The knight, partly undressed, had already dis- 
missed his attendants, and in a mood of deep 
dejection he was standing before a large mirror ; 
a taper was burning dimly beside him. There 
was a gentle tap at his door. Undine used to tap 
thus when she wanted playfully to tease him. 
" It is all fancy," said he to himself ; " I must seek 
my nuptial bed." 

" So you must, but it must be a cold one ! " he 



From Spirit-land. 



144 



Undine. 



heard a tearful voice say from without ; and then 
he saw in the mirror his door opening slowly — 
slowly — and the white figure entered, carefully 
closing it behind her. " They have opened the 
spring," said she, softly, " and now I am here, and 
you must die." 

He felt in his paralyzed heart that it could not 
be otherwise ; but covering his eyes with his 
hands he said : " Do not make me mad with 
terror in my hour of death. If you wear a hide- 
ous face behind that veil, do not raise it, but take 
my life, and let me see you not." 

" Alas ! " replied the figure, " will you then not 
look upon me once more ? I am as fair as when 
you wooed me on the promontory." 

"Oh, if it were so!" sighed Huldbrand; "and 
if I might die in your fond embrace ! " 

" Most gladly, my loved one," said she ; and 
throwing her veil back, her lovely face smiled 
forth divinely beautiful. Trembling with love 
and with the approach of death, she kissed him 
with a holy kiss ; but not relaxing her hold, she 
pressed him fervently to her, and as if she would 
weep away her soul. Tears rushed into the 
knight's eyes, and seemed to surge through his 
heaving breast, till at length his breathing ceased, 
and he fell softly back from the beautiful arms 
of Undine, upon the pillows of his couch — a 
corpse. 



The Knight is Married. 



145 



" I have wept him to death," said she to some 
servants who met her in the ante-chamber ; and, 
passing through the affrighted group, she went 
slowly out toward the fountain. 



CHAPTER XIX. 



HOW THE KNIGHT HULDBRAND WAS BURIED. 

CATHER HEILMANN had returned to the 
* castle as soon as the death of the lord of 
Ringstetten had been made known in the neigh- 
borhood, and he appeared at the very same 
moment that the monk who had married the 
unfortunate couple was fleeing from the gates 
overwhelmed with fear and terror. 

" It is well," replied Heilmann, when he was 
informed of this ; " now my duties begin, and I 
need no associate." 

Upon this he began to console the bride, now 
a widow, — small result as it produced upon her 
worldly, thoughtless mind. The old fisherman, 
on the other hand, although heartily grieved, was 
far more resigned to the fate which had befallen 
his daughter and son-in-law ; and while Bertalda 
could not refrain from abusing Undine as a mur- 

146 



How the Knight was Buried. 147 



deress and sorceress, the old man calmly said : " It 
could not be otherwise after all ; I see nothing in 
it but the judgment of God, and no one's heart 
has been more deeply grieved by Huldbrand's 
death than that of her by whom it was inflicted 
— the poor forsaken Undine ! " 

At the same time he assisted in arranging 
funeral solemnities as befitted the rank of the 
deceased. 

The knight was to be interred in the village 
churchyard, which was filled with the graves of 
his ancestors. And this church had been endowed 
with rich privileges and gifts both by these ances- 
tors and by himself. His shield and helmet lay 
already on the coffin, to be lowered with it into 
the grave, for Sir Huldbrand of Ringstetten had 
died the last of his race ; the mourners began 
their sorrowful march, singing requiems under 
the bright, calm canopy of heaven ; Father Heil- 
mann w r alked in advance, bearing a high crucifix, 
and the inconsolable Bertalda followed, supported 
by her aged father. Suddenly, in the midst of the 
black-robed attendants in the widow's train, a 
snow-white figure was seen, closely veiled, and 
wringing her hands with fervent sorrow. Those 
near whom she moved felt a secret dread, and 
retreated either backward or to the side, increas- 
ing by their movements the alarm of the others 
near to whom the white stranger was now advanc- 



Undine. 



ing, and thus a confusion in the funeral-train was 
well-nigh beginning. 

Some of the military escort were so daring as 
to address the figure, and to attempt to remove 
it from the procession ; but she seemed to van- 
ish from under their hands, and yet was immedi- 
ately seen advancing again amid the dismal 
cortege with slow and solemn step. At length, 
in consequence of the continued shrinking of the 
attendants to the right and to the left, she came 
close behind Bertalda. The figure now moved 
so slowly that the widow did not perceive it, and 
it walked meekly and humbly behind her un- 
disturbed. 

This lasted till they came to the churchyard, 
where the procession formed a circle round the 
open grave. Then Bertalda saw her unbidden 
companion, and starting up, half in anger and 
half in terror, she commanded her to leave the 
knight's last resting-place. The veiled figure, 
however, gently shook her head in refusal, and 
raised her hands as if in humble supplication to 
Bertalda, deeply agitating her by the action, and 
recalling to her with tears how Undine had so 
kindly wished to give her that coral necklace on 
the Danube. 

Father Heilmann motioned with his hand and 
commanded silence, as they were to pray in mute 
devotion over the body, which they were now 



How the Knight was Buried. 149 



covering with the earth. Bertalda knelt silently, 
and all knelt, even the grave-diggers among the 
rest, when they had finished their task. But 
when they rose again, the white stranger had 
vanished ; on the spot where she had knelt there 
gushed out of the turf a little silver spring, which 
rippled and murmured away till it had almost 
entirely encircled the knight's grave ; then it ran 
further and emptied itself into a lake which lay 
by the side of the burial-place. Even to this day 
the inhabitants of the village show the spring, 
and cherish the belief that it is the poor rejected 
Undine, who in this manner still embraces her 
husband in her loving arms. 




United in Death. 



WAR 2 5 1302 



MAR « 5 1902 



